By the River
by glubbingwwhales
Summary: John and Dave live in different villages but happen upon each other in the woods after Dave leaves his village. Dave is living with John until his brother shows up and leaves them no choice but to run away together.
1. Chapter 1

John drug his feet with boredom as he wandered through the freezing woods, a sled sliding through the snow and ice behind him. He was on his way to find some dry firewood for cooking dinner tonight when he tripped over a snow-covered root and fell, his hand grasping at the rope to the sled for balance. He managed to jerk forward the sled and send all of the collected wood to the ground. He held up his hands to see them red from the icy snow and covered in scratches. He moaned in annoyance and discomfort, beginning to gather the wood back onto the sled. He stared at a drop of blood in the snow and reexamined his hands to find one bleeding. He really disliked blood. He decided it would be worth his while to go find a river to wash the scrapes in.

John pulled the sled along silently, following the sound of running water. He finally came to find a small river running near a field. He took in the sight with contentedness, only broken from his trance with the stinging of his hand. He left the sled in the clearing and walked to the river to rinse the dirt from his palms. After a minute of kneeling in front of the stream John felt a presence. He looked up and across the stream to find nobody there. Strange...

He looked to his left to find small movement from behind a tree. He stood warily and walked slowly to the tree. Whoever was there wasn't moving. He grew cautious as he approached the tree. He kept his distance as he began to circle to the other side, coming face to face with another boy. Who he was, John had no idea. He hadn't seen him before nor had he seen anyone else near this stream. He locked eyes with the unknown person, trying to gather as much information as he could without moving his eyes from the red ones staring back.

The boy had piercing red eyes, blonde hair that bordered on white, and a brown-red tunic, a black sash wrapped around the center. The boy was pale, his skin like ivory. John had never seen someone with such looks before. The people in his small village almost all had black hair and blue or brown eyes. This boy, whoever he was, was a shocking comparison. John couldn't move. After a few minutes of doing nothing but staring at his counterpart, he finally managed to catch his breath and stutter out a few words, "U-uh w-who are you? I uh, I've never seen you around here before..." The other boy seemed to relax somewhat and held up a hand in a friendly gesture, "Oh, I- my name's Dave. I um, I came out here for some water..." John looked down at the forest floor, noticing a clay pot, empty. He looked back up at Dave and held out a hand in greeting, "Hi. Is your village close?" Dave looked down at John's hand a moment before returning the handshake and shaking his head, "Um, not exactly. See, I kind of, left." I haven't been to my village for about a week now."

John looked shocked. He couldn't imagine living alone and away from his village. Dave stared at him, making him lightly uneasy. Dave had honestly never seen anyone with such dark hair framing their face before. His village, like John's, was filled with people who derived from the same genes, giving off light hair and either red or green eyes. He was entranced by John's contrasting features and he kind of wanted to touch his hair. He obviously wouldn't do something so strange unless he got to know this boy but he was still curious.

John smiled, "Well, I'm John. My village is over that way." He pointed behind him before dropping his hand back to his side. If you want to, you could come stay closer to my village so we could talk more. I can't stay out here forever, unfortunately, because for one, it's freezing, and also, I have to get the firewood back to my village so they can start dinner. I think if you came back with me, my dad would fill you up with hot stew." John's words dripped with kindness Dave wasn't accustomed to. He wanted so badly to accept the offer, to go back with John and get to know him over a hot dinner, but he couldn't let himself be dragged back into a world of rules and restrictions.

John waited for a reply and finally Dave let himself reply, "I uh, don't think that would be too great of an idea..." John looked physically hurt, "Oh. Okay." His shoulders dropped, as did his smile. He tried to keep smiling to show he was okay with the arrangements but he couldn't honestly say he was happy. He wanted to know Dave more. To learn things about him. He wasn't sure why he was so intrigued by him but he was so different and seemed to have a whole lot going on inside his head. John sighed, "Well, we could always hang out here sometime. If you want, I could bring some leftovers out here later tonight. Are you eating enough without being part of a village? Where are you staying?"

Dave didn't want to answer these questions because he knew his answers were hardly acceptable, "Oh, I uh... I haven't been eating much but, don't feel obliged to bring me anything. Striders don't need food. They survive on pure awesome." Dave seemed to perk back up slightly, as if finally realizing how much he had let his facade go in front of this complete stranger. What was he doing?

"Striders?" John questioned. Dave looked awkwardly out of the corners of his eyes, "Oh that's my name. Dave Strider. Anyway, you'd better get going if you don't want to be late for dinner." John nodded, "I hope I can see you again sometime. Will you be staying in this area?" Dave had honestly planned to keep moving but his mind seemed to have no chance to make itself up because before he could think it through, he had accidentally let a 'yeah' slip through his numb lips.

John smiled again, waving as he nodded and left the area. Dave stayed behind the tree, leaning out from behind the right side to watch John jog to the clearing, grab the rope of the sled he was using, and leave as quietly as he'd arrived.

Dave walked silently as he followed John. No one would ever know this had happened. He didn't have to tell anyone and that was okay with him. He was going to stalk this kid tonight. He managed to keep completely unseen until he found himself looking at a small village. Houses of stone and clay were built close by each other with a round clearing in the middle. The clearing had a large fireplace as it's centerpiece, stones lining its edge, filled with coals from the last fire. John was pulling the sled to the center of the clearing, slowly unloading the wood into a suitable frame for the fire they would build.

A fire began to burn as John struck a flint he had pulled out from his pocket. The flames began to rise and cover the wood he had brought back. A pot was hung on the hook that set low, right over the top of the fire. The man who had put it there was rather tall and had many of John's attributes. He must be John's dad. He had on important clothing and jewelry. Gold bands around his wrists made a chiming noise as they collided and he had chains of silver hanging from his neck. The leader.

The boy he'd met in the woods had been the son of the leader. The chief if you will. Dave squinted his eyes to stare at John. He was smiling happily, the corners of his eyes creasing with happiness as he ran from a girl with long black hair. She looked a lot like him. She must be a sibling. This led Dave to look back on his sister. He hardly missed her but felt a pang of jealousy that John had company when he was so alone. The scent of stew began to fill the air around him and he grimaced as his stomach began to growl. He really hadn't eaten for a few days. The last thing he'd eaten was a bunch of fruit a few days ago.

He saw a bunch of people moving about in the village. A woman brought out a wooden table from the inside of her home. A thick cloth was spread over its surface and baskets of fruit and bread were arranged on top. Clay bowls with beautiful designs were stacked near the end for the villagers to use. Dave smiled halfheartedly. His village hadn't been like this. It wasn't family oriented and it wasn't friendly. His village was a place he hoped he'd never have to return. It was a place of hostility and violence. People didn't like to talk to each other and they didn't have friends. They stayed to themselves and found their own food. It was hardly a village. It wasn't worth being called anything but a common gathering place.

Dave saw a group of teenagers around his age gather around the table, picking up bowls and then rushing to the fire pit to have them filled with steaming food. He wished he could at least go down there. He stood at the top of a small hill, again, behind a tree. He watched John. The dark haired boy filled his bowl with stew and filled his handkerchief with berries and bread, disappearing into one of the buildings. Dave waited for quite a while but he didn't come back out. He was beginning to get frustrated that he didn't know what he was doing but jumped at a voice behind him.

"You know, you could have just told me you were hungry. My family would have been happy to have you." He turned rigidly to see the boy staring at him. But despite his tone of frustration, he had a smile on his face. It was soft and serious. He held out the bowl and fruits. Dave sighed, holding his breath. He stared at the offering but debated whether he should accept or not.

Let's face it; he'd been caught. Dave finally let out the breath he'd been holding and took the bowl with ease, "Thanks." He was about to sit down on the snow-covered ground when John used his now empty hand to grab his arm and pull him slightly in gesture to follow. Dave really didn't want to intrude on the village but it was apparent that John wasn't going to let this go.

Dave followed the boy down the hillside and began to shrink back slightly as they approached the large group. Eyes were on him as he followed closely behind John. People didn't ask questions. They didn't say things like 'What's he doing here?' or 'Who's that?'. They just watched, many giving him smiles of welcoming. He smiled back nervously. After getting through the small crowd to the table, John cleared aside some baskets so Dave had a place to sit down. He sat with the bowl John had made for him and watched as John reserved himself.

He half expected to be left there alone but after John had gotten more fruits to go with his new bowl of stew, he nodded towards the building Dave thought he had disappeared into. He stood and followed the dark haired teen into a hut that looked slightly larger and more well built than the others. He looked around once he had passed through the doorway. The building was nice. Better than any he had back at his village.

The floor was covered in cooked clay tile so it had a stone feel to it under his feet. The tile was often covered with large handwoven rugs in some areas. There was a loom in the corner and Dave looked around at all of the priceless riches that filled the room. Pillows sat atop a large rug in the middle of the room, a wooden table with carvings all along the sides in front of the pillows. Beautiful paintings hung from the walls with rich earthy colors. If there was a doubt about John's social status in this village, it had vanished from Dave's mind.

He watched shyly as John sat on one of the pillows and set his bowl on the table. He hesitated to join him, not used to such high status or quality furniture in general. Finally John spoke up, "Are you gonna sit?" Dave nodded, "Yeah."

He sat on the cushion next to John so he was facing the door, setting his food on the table and looking over at John as if asking for consent to eat. John hardly waited for Dave to sit down before starting. Dave quietly assumed he could eat at this point. He wasn't used to being so shy but hospitality and generosity wasn't something he was used to.

He began to eat, sneaking quick glances at John now and then. When they finally finished eating, Dave leaned back, holding his hands on his crossed legs, "Thanks..." John nodded, "Hey no problem dude! You have somewhere to stay right?" He asked this sounding curious but the shine in his eyes said he knew better. Dave was about to say he did but he just shook his head. John smiled and pulled him up by the arm, leaving the dishes on the table.

He was pulled into another room. This one was practically better furnished than the other room. This room had a large bed. A wooden frame was built sturdily, long swatches spread across the middle to hold up a large material cushion Dave assumed must be filled with wool from the sheep he had spotted outside. He stared. He really couldn't understand how they could afford all of this stuff. It was ridiculous. Then again, he had never been in the house of anyone higher than his and his bro's class.

A thick wool blanket laid on top of the mattress along with a few pillows. Dave couldn't muster up a response to this kid's room. And the funny thing about the whole situation was how nice the kid was for how high his status was. The higher ups of his village were snarky assholes.

John held a hand out, "If you want to, you can use my bed tonight." Dave let his eyes disconnect from the bed and lock onto John's, whose were filled with joy. He seemed happy about being able to share his belongings.

In honesty, John hardly had anything to do with his fortune. He was overjoyed to share it with this teen who seemed his age, possibly to be his best friend. John was friendly, but he didn't actually have any close friends. He never shared the feelings that weren't already obvious to the public. He was overwhelmed with the possibility of this kid becoming his closest friend.

He watched Dave as he seemed to think it over, "Where are you gonna sleep if I take your bed?" John grinned, "On the floor of course. Where else?" Dave creased his forehead, "I'll sleep on the floor. You sleep in your bed. It's not like this is /my/ house." John frowned, wishing Dave would just use his bed. He didn't like the guilty feeling that crept up on him when he thought of letting a guest sleep on the floor, "O-okay... I guess you can if you really want to..." Dave seemed to feel the distress in his friend's voice, "Unless you wanna sleep together." He said with a bit of humor in his voice. He was totally being sarcastic but John seemed to totally miss every hint of irony and smiled, "Hey, if you want to." Dave let the smile on his face decrease but let it stay partially from amusement.

He wasn't really opposed. It was freezing this time of year and he was totally okay with sharing a bed. I mean, fuck if it wasn't big enough. He laughed, "Kay. That's cool." He tried to forget how totally weird this was going to be. It was just a friend, no big deal. He let his eyes wander to the window to see streaks of red and purple crossing the sky.

He turned to the teen standing across from him, "What time do you go to bed?" John looked thoughtful, "Probably pretty soon. It depends on the night and whether or not my dad feels up to telling stories." John grinned, "My dad sometimes starts up a bonfire with the wood reserves and tells stories. He has a lot to tell about from his traveling."

Dave nodded. He had heard of storytellers. He had always wondered what it was like to watch a storyteller talk in an animated way in front of the bright flames of a campfire. Of course he never told this to anyone. No one would care to listen.

He looked up at John's bedroom doorway to see the tall figure of his father walk into the hut, "John, is your friend staying tonight?" He asked in a soft and fatherly voice. John was way too excited in his response, "Yeah! Are we doing storytelling tonight?" John's dad looked back and forth between the two teens in front of him, "Maybe tomorrow. I would love to do it tonight but I just got back from hunting this morning and I need some rest. But I guarantee that tomorrow night, I will have some really good stories from just this last trip. So don't worry about it." He smiled reassuringly and Dave could see the exhaustion showing in his eyes. He could wait. He waved at him as he left the room.

John shrugged, "I guess we can go to bed now if you're tired enough to sleep..." Dave had been sleeping in the cold for the last week. He could have been asleep the entire time and he would still be able to sleep in this house. He nodded to John and sat down kind of awkwardly on the edge of the bed. John nodded towards a wardrobe against the wall, "Do you want to borrow some sleep clothes?"

Dave looked over to John as he asked his question and nodded, "Sure." John stood and opened the wardrobe, pulling out two sets of loose clothing. The cloth was soft and Dave had to guess it was made with a mixture of wool and silk. He felt the material in his hands and pulled his shirt off, tossing it on the floor next to the bed. John looked over and spoke up, "If you put it in the basket by the door, the cleaning lady will wash your clothes for you and have it folded by tomorrow afternoon." Dave picked up his shirt and tossed it in the basket, slipping the dark gray-blue night shirt over his head. He looked over to see if John was making any move to get undressed. The kid was pretty much stripping at ease and Dave raised an eyebrow before quickly pulling his pants off and replacing them with the night pants.

He found the clothes way more comfortable than anything he'd worn before in his life. He sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for John to lay down. John finally sat down and looked over at the blonde, "Hehe." Dave quirked an eyebrow, "What are you laughing at?" John shrugged, "Ive never had anyone my age stay over before..." Dave thought this over, "Now that you mention it I haven't either." He finally managed to lay down and pull the blanket up to his chin, John doing the same. They, in the end, faced away from each other, but Dave didn't feel uncomfortable. He felt rather at home, actually. And he fell asleep thinking about what it would be like if he were in John's place.


	2. Chapter 2

Dave opened his eyes in the morning to the sound of fire crackling. He raised an eyebrow at the feeling of someone pressing against his back and sat up to see John had rolled over in his sleep. He gently pushed him back into position on his side of the bed and smiled as he watched the boy flinch and start to wake up. His eyes squeezing shut and opening slowly before rubbing at them with his hands. He finally sat up and looked over at Dave who was sitting rather contentedly on his side of the bed looking cool as per usual.

John grabbed his glasses from the night stand next to his half of the bed and slid them into place before smiling over at Dave, "Morning!" Dave raised an eyebrow, "Morning." John jumped out of bed, "Since your clothes are still with the cleaning lady, you can borrow some of mine today. We should go to the spring sometime soon so we can finish up before breakfast. I don't like to look like I just woke up while we eat. I assume you wouldn't either..." Dave really didn't know what John was talking about, "What are you talking about?"

John stopped his rambling and looked over at Dave questioningly, "You know... the springs..." Dave shrugged his shoulders and shook his head to let John know everything he said made absolutely no sense to him, "What the fuck is a spring?" John looked shocked, "You bathe right?" Dave nodded, "Okay now I'm getting the idea of what you're talking about. Okay, I don't use whatever you're talking about though." John sat down at the end of his bed, "Where do you bathe then?"

Dave creased his forehead, "The lake; like everyone else in my village did." John's jaw dropped, "No way! That's way too cold though!" Dave shook his head and laughed, "Wimp. What's a spring then?" John smiled, "A spring is a bunch of water that comes up from underground and it's hot so you don't freeze to death. Especially at this time of year." John stood again and opened his wardrobe to pull out a couple dark blue tunics and black pants. Dave picked a pair up when they had been tossed to the bed and examined them. They were made out of thick material unlike wool and had a metal button at the top. He could never afford something like this where he was from and he hoped nothing bad happened while he was wearing them because he would feel horrible for ruining them.

Dave set them down as John pulled out a couple towels. And folded them up with the clothes. He picked the stuff up and waved Dave to follow behind him. The blonde pulled his shoes on at the door and followed John out of the village the opposite direction they had entered yesterday.

He walked on quietly until they came to what looked like a pond. Dave watched as John set the stuff down on a big boulder jutting out of the dirt ground. The pond was surrounded by thick green grass and Dave finally came to notice a layer of steam hovering about the shimmering surface of the pond; no, spring. He watched as John pulled his shirt off before grabbing a pair of clothes and handing them to Dave along with a towel. Dave took his stuff to another boulder on the other side of the stream and awkwardly watched John for a second. The dark haired teen was finally stripped and Dave averted his eyes to pull his own clothes off and step into the warm water out of the frigid morning air.

He was pleasantly surprised when the water was hot, forming to his body shape and warming him up from all the chills he'd acquired on his way here. He decided this was way better than bathing in an ice cold lake and slid down to sit against the shallow bottom of the spring. He glanced over at John, who rubbed his skin to clean any and all dirt off, his skin pale and almost glowing. Dave smiled and leaned back against the grassy ledge of the ground. His red eyes stayed attuned to John's face and chest. Admiring his flawless skin and his vibrant blue eyes. He let his eyes once more fall to his dark black hair. He watched it lose it's gravity as John dove under the surface of the water. He reappeared moments later, his hair drooping in his face.

Dave finally realized what he was doing and thinking and looked hurriedly back down at his own body. He still needed to wash. He ran his fingers over his chest and stomach, letting the hot water wash away the dirt and grime still left clinging to his skin from traveling. He hurriedly stepped from the spring and toweled off, pulling on the clothes john had supplied him. He stood coolly by a tree near where they'd entered the clearing and waited for john to get dressed. John wrung the water from his hair and brushed it out with a brush Dave hadn't noticed he took.

Dave kept his eyes on John's face until he was dressed. He looked down at the clothes he had borrowed and felt a little weird in blue. He was always wearing red or brown. He and John started back towards his house and left the towels in the basket by the door. John ran his fingers through his hair and thought over what they could do today. He wanted to show Dave something interesting. His mind completely clicked when he thought of a place he hadn't visited in a long time. He hadn't been there since he and his sister and cousins were little and still played together every day. When he was that age his dad said they couldn't go that far away from the village unless all four were going. He was old now though, by at least 4 or 5 years.

He turned to Dave, "Stay here, I'll be right back." with this, he ran towards a building on the other side of the campfire. He found his dad sitting at a desk and talking with some of his friends as they ate breakfast, "Hey, Dad, can Dave and I go for a walk?" His dad raised an eyebrow, "Have you two eaten breakfast?" John looked sheepish, "Um... no?" His dad shook his head, "You and him, go eat breakfast and then you can." He smiled and his friend smiled too. John smiled back and nodded. He ran back to where Dave stood, waiting. He grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to the table that was still set out from last night. There was fresh food spread across it now with jams and butter for spreading on the fresh rolls. The two sat down with breakfast and John ate as quickly as possible, making Dave wonder what the rush was.

He finished his breakfast a little slower, the entire time John sat there shaking like he was hyperventilating. Dave finally stood and put his plate on the stack at the end of the table where John had put his. John finally stood quickly, "Follow me!" He turned towards the edge of the camp, in a slightly different direction from yesterday. They'd entered camp from what Dave had to guess was the south and they were headed somewhere around west. From this side of camp, the only thing they could be walking towards was another part of the woods.

There was an overgrown pathway that looked like it was once used often but now wasn't used at all. They pushed their way through overgrown ferns until they entered a more open path that still seemed to hold its shape. After what Dave swore must have been an hour of walking, they finally stopped. Dave could hear the sound of running water. John smiled brightly, "This is it." Dave looked around as if he expected a carnival, "What's 'it'?" John walked forward cautiously, as if he was hoping there was some magical being dwelling in this specific part of the woods.

He pushed aside some overgrowing vines hanging down from a willow and what Dave saw as he looked over John's shoulder was the most beautiful, but most broken place he'd ever seen. On his left was a river, getting farther away the closer toward them it came. Ahead, turned so it was cornered and facing the river, was what looked to be a building, run-down with neglect. There were smooth, round rocks that made a border around the small hut-like structure, almost like a phantom outline where a garden of flowers might be. There was a big boulder next to the hut, large enough that Dave would have to struggle if he'd want to get on top of it; probably almost as tall as him. He noticed a stone pathway leading to the hut and he wondered how it got there. He decided to finally talk.

"How did this get here?"

"Well, me and my sister, Jade, found this when we were little. My cousin Jake was exploring out here, making us come with him while he pretended he was in charge, and we all found this place. We cleaned it up, made it look nice; pretended it was our home. We liked to think no one was in charge of us out here but we all knew we had to be home by dark and we'd leave until morning. We'd eat breakfast and then pack lunch to bring with us when we came back. We actually did that every day without fail until one day there was an accident and we didn't come anymore..."

Dave wanted so badly to ask what the accident was. He didn't want to sound rude in asking, "What... did someone else find your fort or something?" John shook his head, "No... My other cousin, Jane, she had a heart problem. We all knew it because the doctor told her parents when she was born, and she told us. We were out here one day and she just collapsed. We didn't know what was wrong until Jake finally ran back to the hut where me and Jade were cleaning and told us she wasn't breathing anymore. He was yelling and crying and I think he still partially blames himself for it. He thinks it's his fault because he was the one who found the place."

Everything was silent as Dave silently mourned with his friend. He wondered what Jane looked like. John finally laughed kind of nervously, "But... I didn't come here to think about the past. I want to build a new foundation for Skaia... That's what we called it... this." With this, John took a tentative step forward and found himself stepping onto the stone pathway, "This is also something we did. This took a few days. We dug holes and put these stones here because we thought it would look nice, when really it just took us forever and ended up being of little use." he walked forward and Dave followed silently.

He opened the door of the hut. The hut was pretty big for being in the middle of the woods. It was about as big as John's bedroom. If Dave had to guess dimensions he'd say there was five feet on either side of the door and about fifteen feet back. He followed John inside, his leather shoes landing on hard cement. The flat, paved floor of the hut was a contrast to the sad excuse for a wood structure left standing on it. John and Dave, if they planned to fix this up, would have to replace some of the boards and add more on top of some of them to keep them supported. He was surprised it had stayed standing so long.

John pulled him by the wrist to the fireplace. It was made of stone and Dave wondered if it was even safe to use with such a beaten up building surrounding it. He had, however, noticed that the trees were completely cleared around the chimney. So it must be safe. Dave knelt down where John was kneeling on the floor. He pointed to a spot on the floor that was covered in dust. The dust was thick but he could make out four hand-prints in different colors. They were labeled. The dark green was Jake, the Dark blue was John, the light green was Jade, and the light blue was Jane. John held his hand over the blue hand-print with his cousin's name next to it. His hand had grown so much larger than the one of his cousin, who had passed away years ago. He compared it to his old one and realized his old hand was just as small as hers.

Dave smiled and put his hand over John's. He saw from the corner of his eye, a small tear falling onto the dusty floor. He leaned into John's shoulder in reassurance but John smiled when he looked up, "It's okay. I'm glad I can quit feeling sad over her. I know she's happy, wherever she is." His smile was bright but his words still dripped with regret that would probably never go away.

Dave stood and pulled John with him. They had work to do if they wanted to clean this place up. John's first move was to walk to the opposite corner of the room, the corner to the left when coming in. he pulled out a broom that was now layered in dust and cobwebs. A spider dropped a thread and hung from the handle and John all but screamed as he dropped the broom. Dave snickered and picked it up, catching the spider on his finger and letting it go out the door. He blew the dust off of the broom and took it outside to shake off. The amount of dust clinging to the straw was unbelievable. He walked back inside and began sweeping.

He turned over to John, "Hey do you have that flint you used yesterday to start the fire?" John nodded cautiously, "Why? Were you gonna light a fire in the fireplace? I uh... never actually got to before, we weren't allowed to have flint back then." Dave shrugged and held out a hand, "Go get some firewood." John gave him the flint and jogged out to the woods. Dave wondered why he'd been so shy yesterday. Now that he looked back on it he had hardly said anything. He felt way more comfortable with John now than he had before.

John came back five minutes later with sticks and branches for a fire. Dave had been sweeping out the old dust and junk in the fireplace and it was now cleaned out and ready for a fire. The fireplace, made of stone and compared to the rest of the house, was really nice. The stone was sealed together with more cement and if it was washed off, would look perfect. He organized the sticks and dried branches in the fireplace and struck the flint until sparks lit up and the entire bundle of sticks was caught on fire. The fireplace was soon ablaze and Dave and John watched in awe as it illuminated the entire room and made it seem a little more like home.

Next they needed to sweep the rest of the floor. Dave set to work sweeping while John went back to the village. He told him he'd be back within an hour. He went back to his house, silently, making sure no one saw where he'd come from. He didn't want to raise Jake's and Jade's interests and have them wanting to tag along too. He doubted Jake would ever want to see Skaia again but Jade was a different story. He went in through his back door and went to the old closet where they kept extra cleaning supplies. They didn't use them hardly ever because they had a woman in the village who did their cleaning. He searched through it, finding all the things he would need. He found himself running through the woods minutes later with a bucket, filled with a cleaning brush, an old rag, and some of the suds they used to clean things like dishes and what not.

He ended up back at the fort, nearly on the floor, out of breath. Dave had swept the floor almost completely clean. It had dirt on it still because no matter how much Dave swept, it would never come off with this thing. That's where the bucket and brush came in handy. John emptied the supplies onto the floor and told Dave to go outside. He filled the bucket with water and set to cleaning. Dave asked about ruining his clothes but John shook his head, "These clothes are tough and if they get holes, there's a seamstress who can mend them."

Dave shook his head. This kid needed to learn the value of his belongings. He had nothing else to do in the house so he decided to clean up the ground outside. There were weeds all over, strangling the growth of the grass he could tell used to be thick. He dropped to his knees and pulled at them, starting a pile. The sun was starting to set and Dave called for John, "Hey, its starting to get dark out here do you think we should head back yet?" John stuck his head out the door and his mouth opened, "Have we really been out here all day?" Dave nodded.

John quickly went back to work, finishing the floor. It was soaking wet when he was done but when Dave saw the bucket of water, now turned brown with dirt and dust, he decided he didn't mind waiting for it to dry, it was totally worth it.

They headed back to camp, with smiles, now dirty and sweaty from the long day of work, and totally ready to fall into bed. Dave and John entered the house and John's dad was waiting for them. He smiled when they came in, "You boys have fun? You haven't been out that long in a long time." John nodded, "Yeah we went exploring the woods. We found this really big tree that is totally awesome for climbing and is totally ours now." Dave kept his poker face. He had to wonder why he was lying. His dad seemed like the type to be okay with what they were doing. Was he still upset over Jane? Dave didn't like the idea of lying to someone undeserving, but, he had to trust John knew what he was doing.

His dad nodded, "I'm glad you had fun, but maybe, if you go out tomorrow, try to be home a little bit earlier. Its been dark for almost a half hour." John nodded, "Sorry dad, I'll make sure to get back sooner tomorrow." His dad smiled, "You two should go to bed." John smiled back, "Alright." He and Dave went to his room and got dressed to sleep. Dave's clothes were folded and set on the bed and he was glad he could go back to red tomorrow, and also glad he wouldn't have to dirty John's clothes tomorrow.

He set them on the floor and laid down to sleep. This time, he found that he and John were facing each other. John fell asleep quickly, forcing himself unconscious in order to get up tomorrow. Dave stayed awake though, excited at the possibilities of what Skaia could turn into. It must be the most beautiful place when it's cleaned up. Against his better judgment, he lifted his hand to hesitantly run it through John's hair. It was just like it looked, soft and perfect. He let the thought run through his head but found himself soon drifting into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Dave woke in the morning to find John shaking him, "Hey... Dave? Wake up we should go to the springs."  
Dave sat up, "Huh?" His brain was still foggy from sleep and he didn't understand what was being asked of him. John laughed, "To the springs. To bathe." Dave looked out the window, "It's still dark out..." John laughed, "But if you think about it, we came back and went to sleep at about 6 last night and its only about 4 right now. We've slept for ten hours, who cares if it's dark?" Dave cared. He stood up anyhow and shook the sleep off.

John got him a towel and he stacked it with his clothes. They left for the springs. Dave went to the same spot he was at yesterday and stripped down, slipping into the water. He tried to keep his eyes to himself today but at one point, looking up with only his eyes, he noticed John standing still and watching him. Part of him was immensely amused and part of him, maybe a bit self-conscious.

He dried himself off and slipped into his regular red clothing. They went back to John's house to find his father awake and looking around the house, "Oh... You're up early, I was wondering where you'd gone."

John frowned, "Sorry..."  
His dad shook his head, "No that's fine. You just don't usually get up until about 6 or 7."  
John smiled, "Can we take breakfast with us today?"  
His dad seemed to consider whether this was a thing he should let him do, "Hm... alright. But use the wood." John nodded and Dave followed him into a room he hadn't seen; the kitchen. John reached into a back cupboard and pulled down two wooden bowls. He handed one to Dave and they both went outside to see the villagers setting up for breakfast.

When the food was beginning to arrive, people waking up and gathering foods they had made the previous day to share, Dave and John began picking out what looked best. When they had bowls full of their choice foods, John grabbed two clothes and handed one for Dave to cover their food on the way through the woods.

With this, they left the village and began down the familiar pathway. Dave was first to Skaia. When they got close he broke out into a run. He opened the door to the house and noted that the floor was dry. He was pretty surprised it had dried overnight. He had assumed it would take a day or two with it being indoors but when he remembered they had left the fire going he figured it out. They had spent several minutes considering leaving the fire going or completely soaking the fire place with water to put it out. They had both decided that if the house had a fireplace in it, it was meant to withstand a fireplace and they shouldn't completely drench the place.

With this, Dave looked to see the fire had been reduced to ashes and would have to be rebuilt, unsurprisingly. The first part of the day was planning. They spent ten minutes sitting in the middle of the now cleaned floor, talking out how the day would be played out, "Well, first, you should go get some firewood, and while you're gone, I'll finish pulling weeds."

John seemed to agree with this, "Then after I get back, I'll start up a fire and we can clean the rest of the house. The fireplace still needs to be washed and the windows aren't even useable."

"There are windows?"

John came back to Skaia with an armload of sticks to see Dave lying on his back on the stone pathway, "What are you doing?" he asked, slightly accusatory. Dave shook his head, "Do you know how many fucking weeds this place has?" John laughed and after dropping the sticks and dried branches by the door, held out an arm to help him up. He grabbed his hand and felt a blood run to his cheeks. He wasn't sure if it was just because he was hot and tired though.

He stood, so glad he was done with weeds. The pile was giant and he was wondering what to do with it. He would consider burning them but it would smell horrible and the house would smell disgusting. He, instead, looked towards the river, wide and rushing downstream. He smirked and grabbed handfuls of weeds, tossing them into the stream to be carried away by the current. John helped him and soon enough the small patches of grass looked like they were finally getting some air after years of suffocation.

John went back into the woods and came back with another armful of sticks and branches. He did this three more times in quick succession and Dave figured he must have made a big pile when he was searching.

He went inside the house with a clean bucket of water and picked up the scrub brush John had used to clean the floor. The fireplace wasn't too hard to clean. It was mostly dust and a little soot. When that was done, he went outside to see what John was up to. He found him rearranging the firewood into a somewhat orderly pile on the side of the house where the roof overhung it, ensuring it stayed dry. After a minute of watching him, he seemed to notice Dave's presence and looked up, "Here, take this and I'm gonna keep looking for firewood." He handed Dave a pile of sticks and stood to leave.

Dave went back inside and made a fire to lighten up the room. With this, he looked around carefully to find that yes, there were windows. They were covered in dirt and grime that had probably been there even before John and his relatives had found this place. It was unlikely that when they were younger they cared too much about clean windows. He got the brush from by the fireplace and went to work. At first, he assumed it was impossible. The dirt was dried on and almost seemed to be fuzed to the glass, but after a few minutes of frustrated scrubbing, it began to loosen up.

The windows literally took about two full hours to clean. There were only two and they weren't very big, but with the accumulated grime from years' past, it was complicated and hard work.

When they were cleaned it was nearing 8:30. he remembered that he and John hadn't eaten the breakfast they'd brought that still sat, covered, by the door. He stuck his head out the door, "Hey John, aren't we forgetting something?" John's eyes turned to the corners of his eyes as he considered this. When thinking about it, he finally remembered, "Oh... We should eat!" Dave smiled and John came into the house, picking up his bowl and sitting in the middle of the floor.

Dave sat down too. He pulled out the bread that had long since gone cold and set it on the side of the fireplace where it looked cleanest. John followed his idea and sat back down. They both picked out foods from their bowls that looked good. Finally Dave broke the silence, "Hey..."

John looked up, smiling, "Yeah?"  
Dave knew what he was about to say would totally make this awkward but he didn't really mind, "Hey this morning..."  
John's smile remained but the light behind it was gone in a flash as if he knew exactly where this was going.  
"Were you watching me?"  
John bit his lip, his smile going completely away now, "I- just for a minute. I didn't-"  
Dave cut him off with a smile that confused him.  
"Why are you smiling at me?"  
Dave smirked, "Nothing." John seemed kind of confused but the subject was changed to what they would do after their slightly late breakfast, "So. I got the windows cleaned, and hell if that wasn't complicated, what do I do now?"  
John thought this over, seemingly completely forgetting the weird subject a minute before, "Well, I think for the next few days we should be getting extra firewood and storing it next to the house so that way if we come here after the snow starts coming more consistently we don't have to go find firewood. It would all be wet anyway." The snow from a couple days ago had been light and was already melted and forgotten.

Dave nodded, "Okay, what do we do for today though?"  
John looked thoughtful, "I think we should make some furniture. The floor is clean but it's cold and it's cement." Dave nodded in agreement. He had no idea how to make furniture but if it was built like the other things he had built, it wouldn't be too easy or too hard. It would be hard to find parts for and easy to put together.

He finished half of the food he'd brought and covered up the rest for lunch. They hadn't brought any yesterday and had missed dinner and he didn't relish the idea of missing another meal. He set the bowl by the fireplace and picked up the warmed bread to eat silently. He leaned against the stone and felt the warmth soak into his tired body.

After a while, John finished what he could eat and put his bowl next to Dave's and headed outside to gather more firewood. Before he headed into the woods he shouted, "Actually, don't worry about furniture today, we can deal with that tomorrow, today, you could maybe straighten up the flower bed and help me with my new project when I get back."

Dave wanted to ask what John's 'project' was but he somehow knew he wouldn't be able to get an answer out of him. He went outside and looked down at the small flowerbeds on either side of the door and the small stone step into the house. He got onto his knees with the bucket beside him and scooped the ugly dirt on top into his cupped hands just to dump it into the bucket. The darker soil underneath looked a lot better and he decided this was a method that would work for him.

Before John got back, there were multiple times when he had to stop to pull small splinters from his fingers. He finished scraping the old dirt and twigs from the flowerbeds and took the bucket of dirt to the stream to dump it where it wouldn't always catch his eye. The dirt floated and looked ugly only for a minute before it either sunk to the bottom of the river or flowed with the current.

John had successfully carried back another three trips of firewood to add to the increasingly large stack by the house. Dave noticed the cement was stretched out under the wood and he stood back, looking at the house with a speculating glance. He hadn't noticed the roof on that side was obviously overhanging farther than the other side. It must have been built like that intentionally for keeping firewood. His eyes came back down to look at John.

"So... What's this project of yours?"  
John smiled, "I hope you're ready to do a lot of reaching. We're gonna clean off the house now." Dave creased his forehead but with another glance at the house, he had to admit it was rather dirty. There was dirt reaching up and coating the entire lower two feet of the house in a gross layer of brown. The rest of the house was covered in dirt too and Dave wasn't sure he wanted to clean it after having experienced cleaning the windows. But with this in mind, he also had to wonder what the building would look like with the color showing. It had obviously been painted a light green. It was faded from the sun so it was more of a dull olive green now, mixed slightly with the color of wood underneath that shown through from being worn out.

Dave frowned now, "We only have one brush ho-"  
John held up another one, "Nope, I brought another one this morning."  
Dave creased his forehead, "You were here this morning?" John nodded, "Yeah I woke at like three and came over here with some more stuff. It's in the supply closet in the house."  
Dave hadn't gotten around to looking in the supply closet, he had had a feeling there was some kind of animal's nest in there. He was kind of afraid of how bad it would be to clean, "There wasn't anything in the closet?"  
John laughed, "No the door's been shut it's just dusty."  
Dave felt stupid. The door's been shut of course there were no animals living inside.

He went inside and opened the door to the closet. He looked around. There was another bucket, but bigger, more correctly described as a metal tub. It would be good for washing clothes or dishes if they ever camped out here. There were a few towels that looked old and way out of date to be used in John's house. He would have to ask why he even had them still, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Next he saw some old blankets stacked up next to the towels. He saw a few cracked or chipped dishes stacked on a shelf in the back of the closet.

He saw the soap and rag from yesterday sitting next to them and finally shut the door, "where did you get all that stuff?"  
John smiled, "Whenever something got worn out, my dad would throw it out but I always thought it would be fun to have some stuff for myself so I went and kept it and put it all in my closet for when I wanted to feel like I had something for myself. I know I'm kind of a pack-rat but I only kept stuff I could use..." Dave smiled. He honestly thought it was a good idea.

He grabbed the other scrub-brush and the big water basin . He filled the tub with water and John helped him carry it over to the house. They set to work, scrubbing the top of the house first. If Dave were to guess, he'd say the ceiling was only about a foot over his head, maybe a little more. They got the dirt of the top of the house with ease and then went to the middle. The middle was where the actual dirt started to appear. It was harder to get off but was still relatively easy. The paint was starting to show up a bit more but the scrubbing was also chipping away loose paint. The bottom was disgusting and they had to refill the tub with new water before they could wash it.

The green was especially worn out at the bottom and the dirt was thick and when they scrubbed at it, dirty water ran down the house to soak the dirt below it and make a muddy mess of the flowerbed. Dave creased his forehead at that, wondering if they would even plant anything there. Part of him hoped they would because it would surely look good and maybe make the house prettier in spite of the chipping, worn out paint.

It took a while to clean the house up and when they were finished, they stood back to admire their work. It was still a drab color but the dirt was washed away and left the building with a prettier color, albeit faded.

With this, John sat down on the small cement step on front of the door, "Alright, I think we're done for the day."  
Dave looked up at the sky, "But it's only noon."  
John smiled, "Well... we could start on the furniture but we have to go back to the village first."  
Dave raised an eyebrow, "Okay?"  
He grabbed their food from the house and handed John's to him as they walked back to the village, snacking as they went.

Dave followed John through the path that was still slightly unfamiliar. They got back to the village just as everyone was cleaning up from lunch. They grabbed some fresh berried to add to their bowls and left them in the house to get before they left again. Dave was following John's lead and really didn't know what they were doing back here in the first place. He opened the drawer in the bottom of his wardrobe and dug around for a minute until he appeared with a glass jar filled halfway with gold coins. Dave let his mouth open in awe. He had never had more than about five gold. Ever.

John held the jar close as they headed out of the house. Dave followed, mouth still open in wonder. He must get summer jobs? He must work somewhere to get that much money. They started walking through the village in areas Dave hadn't been in. They were rounding a corner and John bumped into someone. Dave walked around him to see who it was. He was met with a boy who looked their own age. He had black hair like John but it seemed a little unkempt. He had glasses too and looked very much alike John.

"Oh, hey Jake!" John seemed happy enough but he quickly slid the jar of money around his back for Dave to take. Dave took it and held it behind his own back, wondering why it was something to hide.

Jake smiled back, "John, I haven't seen you in a while! How's Jade? Is she doing like usual? Who's this?" he finally seems to notice the blond standing slightly behind John. He seemed intrigued by his bright red eyes, "Whoa your eyes are splendid!"

Dave raised an eyebrow. 'splendid'? Okay. He held out a hand, "I'm Dave." Jake shook his hand and began rambling to John about his recent activities, his family life, and the like. John seemed happy to see him but he was shying away as he began to talk more and more, "Hey Jake my dad is having me run errands I'd better get going." Jake nodded, seeming just as happy. They both hugged goodbye and Jake ran off to do his own thing.

Dave was glad he had gone but he was even more curious now. What was with John and lying so much?


	4. Chapter 4

Dave followed John through the village until they came to a mill. He raised an eyebrow as they entered the part of the building that looked like a shop. There was a man standing at the counter who waved at John and Dave as they entered the shop, "Good afternoon John, How may I help you today?"

John smiled back at him, "We're going to need some building supplies. You have some smaller planks and nails right?"  
The man nodded, "Right over here."  
Dave and John followed the man and Dave finally got it. Of course, John had a lot of money, being the heir of the village and all, and their village had to have building supplies. This was where they would get all of the stuff they needed for furniture. It would be a lot of walking, that's for sure.

Dave and John followed the man into the back room where there was wood stacked up in piles. John found some that were about six feet long and pulled out a stack of them, "Hey James, do you think you could help us get these somewhere? And is it too much to ask that we keep this a secret between us? I don't want anyone to know but me and Dave," he pointed at him, "have a secret fort and we don't want anyone knowing about it."

Dave let his mouth open slightly, so that was why he was lying. He didn't want anyone asking questions or catching on. That made sense. The man who was going by James nodded, "Absolutely! Where is this fort of yours?" he asks in a low voice.  
"It's in the woods a little to the west of here. It's only about two miles away so if we all work together, we could probably get this stuff out there in only a few trips."  
James nodded, "Alright. I can do that, just let me go tell my assistant that he needs to watch the shop." He left the room and John counted out some boards. Dave could hear him muttering under his breath until he got to twenty. The boards were thick and looked sturdy. John put them in a pile and wandered around the back of the shop until he came back with four logs, stripped of their bark and dried out that Dave had to guess would be the posts to a bed. He set them down next to the boards and went back to searching. Dave watched as he looked through various metal boxes, finally coming back with some more supplies, which Dave could see were some thin rope, nails, and leather straps.

Dave stared in awe, "Can you actually afford all of this?"  
"Well, yeah. Why else would it all be sitting here, ready for me to buy? This will probably only cost about a quarter of what's in that jar." Dave looked down at the jar in his hands and then watched as John continued his journey through the back of the store. He came back with a wooden box and opened the lid to start putting the smaller things inside. He stacked in the leather straps, rope, nails, a new addition of a small saw that made Dave nervous when thinking of John using it.

James came back and clapped his hands together, "Alright, can we get to the trail by going through the Northern?"  
John nodded, "Yeah. Do you have materials here? I need about ten yards in some brown material but Miriam doesn't like me too much and she'd definitely tell my dad I stopped by."  
James shook his head, "I don't but if you want me too, I could go get some for you? I know if I was you and wanted to keep something a secret I wouldn't want to go stop by there either, she just doesn't like secrets at all!"  
John nodded, "Thanks! Here," John pulled five gold coins from the jar and handed it too him, "I need ten yards of brown fabric, six buttons and two spools of thread."  
James nodded, "I'm on it."  
"Keep the extras. Thanks James."

Dave watched silently as John seemed to have this all planned out. James came back a few minutes later with an armload of stuff which he handed to John, "Alright, here's your stuff, what is it you're buying from here?"

John put the fabrics and stuff in the box with the other smaller things and listed off exact amounts to James who was busy adding things in his head. He nodded when John was done, "Alright that should be fifteen gold." James' eyes sparkled as he said the total and John pulled the coins from his jar and handed them over. James smiled, "Thanks John. Lead the way."

John picked up the wooden box, which was now closed tight and handed it to Dave. Dave held it to his chest and watched as John and James picked up half the pile of planks, each holding on tight to one end, "Actually, Dave, could you put that down and get some twine to tie the end of these together?"

Dave set the box on the counter and looked around until he spotted some twine, coming back and tying the ends of the planks together so they weren't falling all over the place. He picked the box back up and they left the village.

John and James each kept an arm over their respective ends of the planks and they led Dave to an unknown trail to the north that reminded Dave of the trail to the springs. They, instead of going farther like to the springs, took a turn left and began going through a well-used trail that circled around the entire village and met up with the trail to their fort.

John and Dave led the way from here. The walk took a while longer than usual but they kept up the pace so they wouldn't be all day. By the time they got to Skaia, they all set down the supplies in the fort and went outside to sit by the river and cool down, "This is a really awesome place you guys found here! If I didn't have to work I would love to come live here all the time. I don't suppose you guys need help with whatever you're building?"

John laughed, "Well, I have plenty of money to spare, if you'd like to help us you can."  
James had a greedy glint in his eyes but declined the offer with regret, "No no, if I helped you I couldn't take pay for it. I would enjoy it way too much."

John laughed, "Alright you can help if you want to but we need the rest of the stuff."

With this, they all ran back to the store. When they got their, they were all out of breath and James shook his head, "Let's all sit down and drink some hot tea for a minute."  
John nodded and they all climbed the stairs to James' personal home on the second floor. He pulled a kettle from a wood stove and filled up some teacups with water before bringing them to the table to serve the tea.

They all sat in silence and drank tea for ten minutes before Dave started to feel jittery, wanting to get on the move again so once they had all the supplies at the house they could come back home and eat dinner and sleep. He finally spoke up for the first time since meeting James, "So... Are we actually building today or are we waiting until tomorrow?"

John seemed to expect this question, "I wanted to today but with all of this walking I think it would be best to wait until tomorrow." James nodded in agreement and Dave stood up to go back downstairs, John soon behind, following. Him and James picked up the second half of the boards and Dave tied them as before. He picked up the other four logs and they set out on their way back to the house. Once they got there and left the supplies inside, they all went to sit by the river again, this time relaxing because they had nothing left to do. James finally spoke up, "So how did you guys find this place anyway?"  
John answered first, "Well technically Jake found it. Him, Jade, Jane, and I were exploring years ago and found it but that's when Jane passed away and we never went back."  
James nodded, "Oh so that's what happened. I was never told what happened with her. Also, if you don't mind my asking, Dave doesn't look like he's from around here. I also haven't met him until now, is he visiting?"  
John shook his head, "No he's, hm, he's here temporarily. So yeah, I guess he's visiting." He sounded a little sad admitting that Dave might not be there forever.

At the sign of the sun starting it's descent, they all stood and walked slowly back to the village, coming in through what Dave was now aware was known as, 'the Northern'.

They gathered for dinner and ate in silence until they all went to bed.

~ ~

Dave woke up with sore muscles but an enthusiastic brain. He noticed that he must be getting used to this schedule because it was still dark out and John was just beginning to stir, "John."  
John rolled over to face him, "Hm?" he rubbed at his eyes before opening them to meet Dave's, "Yeah?"  
"Is it time to get up?" John looked out the window to see it was dark but that the sun was just starting to lighten up the thick black cover of night.  
"Yeah."

He rubbed at his eyes and stood up to grab some clean clothes and his towel. He would have to wear John's clothes again today while his were being washed. They went to the springs and Dave sat down silently in the warm water, the steam waking him up. He watched as John did the same thing. They sat staring at each other in silence from their respective sides of the springs until John finally yawned and stood up to clean himself off, Dave following suit.

They walked back to James' place and John knocked on the door. He was confronted with James holding a cup of tea and rubbing his eyes, "Morning, John, Dave. We going so early?"  
John nodded, "Yeah we get up about this time every morning. Also, I forgot to ask yesterday, "Do you have paint here?"  
James nodded, "Yeah, What color do you need?"  
John beckoned for Dave to stay where he was and went inside with James, "What colors do you have?" James took him to a closet behind the counter and opened it up to show tubs of natural paint. His wife made it with the plants she found on her trips. She went with the hunters to gather medicinal herbs and plants for making paint.

John picked out a tub of olive green and then asked about getting a small amount of red and blue. He came back out with the red and blue bottles shoved in a pocket. They all went through the Northern, walking to the fort. James brought a few hammers, something John had completely forgotten about. They arrived there, ready for anything.

John started by untying the boards and laying them out as needed. He laid out ten boards side by side on top of three going the opposite direction, one in the middle and one on each end. They were nailed together. The next thing they had to do was saw deep cuts in each of the logs working as corner posts. Their arms were tired when they finished that but they had to continue working. John stood up the first post while Dave and James held up the rest of the wooden platform they had made. The planks were fit into the holes carved into the posts until it was standing on its own, albeit a bit wobbly.

The next step was cutting one of the planks into multiple squares and stacking them to sit under the middle, to hold it up. The planks were nailed to the corner posts and then tied with rope to be kept in place. Three planks were nailed across the bottom of the bed from one corner post to the other, and four on the top by where their heads would be.

The bed frame was coming along nicely and Dave was soon realizing that what he thought was something only higher ups could have was something anyone could have with some hard work.

The next thing they did was wrap one of the long leather straps around the four posts about a foot up where the planks were joined with the posts. It was wrapped around the circumference of the frame to hold them all together as one.

Finally it was time for the test. The bed was sturdy and it stayed together well when shaken, but could it hold a person? Or two? Dave hesitantly lowered himself to sit on top of the frame. The thick planks held up his weight without question and the entire thing seemed to work out a whole lot better than he thought it would. John sat next to him, non too gently. Dave almost had a panic attack from him sitting down so care free, "Be careful you'll break it!" John shook his head, "I doubt it, I built it the same way I built my own bed frame."

Dave raised an eyebrow, "You built your other one too?"  
John nodded, "Well my dad helped me but yeah,"

Dave suddenly felt a lot more at ease about the bed frame. He moved around a bit to see if it would wobble but it stayed in place. James nodded, "Okay so what now?"

John shrugged, "Not much. You can go home if you want to that's all I wanted to build in case we camp out here some time."  
James nodded, "Alright, I guess I'll see you around John, "Thanks for giving me something to do."  
He smiled and left the house, John watching as he left through the main trail and disappeared under the hanging vines of the willow.

John sat up, "Alright, time to paint."  
Dave sat up beside him, "Okay. What kind of paint did you get?"  
John walked over to the wooden box and pulled out a metal bucket filled with paint. The lid had a streak of olive green on it. Dave nodded in approval, "Okay let's get to work."

They opened the paint and John went to get the two brushes he'd bought earlier that day. They went outside and set to work, painting over the newly washed surface of the house. The paint was dark and blended in with the nature around them, somehow still making it seem like a brighter and more beautiful place.

They painted until after noon. The paint was running out but they managed to finish the house just as they were reaching the last few drops. The last of the green paint was successfully used in a game of 'let's see who can smear more paint on the others' face'. So that's how they ended up with green paint streaks on their cheeks and noses. They both laughed and let the paint dry there while John pulled out the other two colors, "It's time for your initiation." Dave raised an eyebrow.

John smiled, "Hold out your hand." Dave did as asked and John dumped a blob of red paint on his palm. He rubbed his hands together as to follow John's example and John knelt down next to the opposite side of the fireplace as the other prints. They both pressed their hands to the cement, pulling away to reveal their hand prints. John gave Dave the small tube of red paint and he smeared more blue on his finger to write out his name next to his hand. Dave did the same and they both stood back to look at their handiwork.

They both smiled and went out to the river to strip down and wash the paint from their hands and faces, going back inside in just their pants to dry in front of the fire.


	5. Chapter 5

Dave sat up and pulled his tunic back on. John followed suit and they set off back down the trail. They arrived back at the village just as dinner was getting started. John's dad asked if they wanted to help with dinner and John looked over at Dave, "Sure."

With this, they headed to the kitchen and set to work. They decided tonight they would cook up some of the beef his dad had brought home from his last trip. He pulled a pot from the cupboard and filled it with cleaned water, cutting up beef and tossing it inside. He added salt, something they were lucky to have.

Dave and John worked together, carrying it out to the fireplace and hanging it from the hook hanging above a fire that was already made.

They sat down at a table. John was watching the flames of the fire as someone approached them. Dave looked up to see Jake. His mouth went into a straight line, not sure what to think of this. John looked up as he noticed the change in mood, "Oh hi, Jake!"

Jake smiled, "Hey, John, Dave. Wanna eat supper with me? Jade is off with one of her friends, I don't have anyone to sit with and I don't even know where she's at."  
John nodded, "Sure! Me and Dave are in charge of cooking the beef." He smiled at this as though he felt important being able to help out with dinner. Dave wasn't sure of this but it seemed like helping out with dinner was a special occasion that he wasn't asked to do often.

Jake sat down next to them and John went back to watching the pot. He told Dave to keep an eye on it and ran back to the house, coming back with a jar of green herbs. He opened the jar and as the water came to a heavy boil, he poured some in and stirred the mix with a metal spoon sitting on the table.

People were starting to gather around the table and as John deemed the meat ready, he pulled the pot from the hook and set it on a flat stone at the end of the table, setting the spoon next to it for people to serve with.

He held Dave back, "When we help cook we have to serve last."  
"Why? We're the ones who put in all the work, shouldn't we be the ones to serve first?"  
John shook his head, "I didn't make the rules I just follow them."

Dave couldn't help but shake his head at the dark-haired boy next to him.

Jake went forward though, serving himself as if he hadn't chose to be a part of their little cooking crew. Dave decided mentally that if he hung out with those cooking he should have to follow the rules they had to follow. He rolled his eyes and waited until the line was slowly starting to disappear.

He and John went to the back of the line where the others who cooked were starting to stand. He picked up a bowl and filled it with meat, searching over the table to see what else there was to eat. He settled on bread and blackberries. He hadn't had blackberries in so long since they stopped growing them in his village when he was little.

They all went to John's house and sat down around the table, Jake joining them this time. Dave sat on the long side of the table while John and Jake sat on each end. After a while he felt Jake's eyes on him. He was being rather subtle but Dave couldn't help but stare back, waiting for Jake to look up and notice he had been caught. His green eyes rose a few inches before realizing he was being watched.

He looked up at Dave and when Dave took a bite of bread while still staring at him, he looked away uncomfortably. Dave decided to ignore his sudden interest in him went back to eating, all the while still feeling eyes staring at his hand that rested on the table beside his bowl. He creased his forehead finally, and startled John who hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary when he looked over at Jake, "What?"

John looked up from his food to see what was happening. Jake looked down, "Oh, I was just, wondering why your hand is all red."  
Dave looked down at his fingers to see that, yes, there was still a tinge of red to them. He raised an eyebrow, "It's a thing with my village, we all have this. It's like a birth mark. It's rude to stare," he ended with, making Jake awfully uncomfortable.  
"Oh... Sorry."

With this Jake went back to eating and John looked like he was holding back laughter. Dave tried to conceal a smile as he went back to eating nonchalantly.

When they finished eating, John thought over something, "Hey, Jake... wanna spend the night?"  
Jake looked surprised, "Oh! Sure!"

John had never actually asked anyone to spend the night before, that's why Dave staying was such a new thing. He wanted to have a sleepover though instead of just, 'having someone stay there'.

Jake stood, "I'd better go ask my parents though. I'll be back in a few minutes."

With this, he took his leave and Dave was reminded of something curious, "Hey, didn't you say Jade is your sister? Where is she at anyway?"

John looked a little sad, "She used to live here when we were really little but when she turned about 6 she moved to our grandfather's house. She liked the area more. Over here, it's all trees and stuff but on the complete other side of the village there's a lot of fields and hills and stuff, she likes the grassy area more than over here, which I can understand. She used to come over here and hang out with us every day but like all of us, after the whole ordeal with Jane, she kind of shied away more and stayed to herself."

Dave raised an eyebrow, "Well why don't we go visit her?"  
John seemed to ponder this, "I don't see why not! I think we should wait til thew morning though."  
"Why? She could spend the night tonight. You said yourself you never had anyone spend the night before, I think it would be kind of fun to have them both over, kind of like a reunion. You guys should start hanging out more. Also, I don't see why we have to keep the fort a secret from them anyway, why can't they come help with it?"

John seemed a bit guilty as the last part came into the conversation, "Well, it's not that I really want to but I feel like it's important that I do. I kind of like not having to share it with more than one other person anyway. As it is, I can enjoy spending time there with just you but if Jade and Jake got involved I would have to go back to splitting it up between us all. You know what I mean?"

Dave nodded. He could understand that. If they all knew about it it would automatically go back into being Jake's property. He did find it first after all. He would end up wanting to be in charge, there could be arguments, John and Dave would effectively be knocked down to co-leaders and they would be unhappy because they were the ones who put all the restoration work into it.

Dave nodded and stood, holding out a hand to help John up, "Shall we go get Jade?"  
John smiled, "Sure it's not dark yet."

They left the house and ran into John's dad, "Oh, Dad, can I have Jake and Jade spend the night tonight?"  
His dad seemed a little surprised he even asked, "Sure, that's fine."  
"Also, While we're gone to get Jade, mind watching out for Jake? When he gets back from asking his parents he'll need to know where we're at, just let him stay in my room til we get back."  
His dad nodded and he and Dave set out.

Dave followed as they walked through the village. It was a pretty big village but the distance from their end to Jade's was only about a mile. As they entered the other end of the village, Dave noticed they had their own fire pit and people were carrying tables inside their houses. They must split up for meals, there was no ay they could all fit around one end of camp. It all made sense.

John was right, Jade's end of the village was much grassier and there was a pond right outside the village. Dave wondered why they had left the village but as they approached one of the many fields, he saw a figure running, a large animal behind her.

He smiled as he saw her, she looked like she was having fun. John smiled too. He held up a hand and when she noticed, she stopped mid run, her animal running past her, turning around in confusion. She began towards them at a sprint, "John!" She called as she approached. He was hugged fiercely and the animal had the nerve to bark at him as though he was actually threatening.

Jade smacked him playfully across the snout, "Bec! It's John. You know John!"  
John knelt down and held out a hand for the dog. He sniffed at him before wagging his tail happily and licking his face. John stood quickly and hugged Jade back.

"How are you doing?!"  
John smiled, "I'm doing fine, this is Dave."  
Jade turned to the blond end held out an enthusiastic hand, "Hi, I'm Jade."  
He shook her hand happily, already glad they'd come by here. She was really nice; he liked her.  
"Hi."

John spoke up, "We're having Jake spend the night and Dave asked if you could come too?"  
Jade smiled at Dave before looking back at John, "I don't see why Grandpa would say no, I mean I should be free to sleep at my own dad's house." She giggled.

The three of them turned to follow Jade as she lead them back to her house. The dog that followed her was big and white, little bits of light gray through it's thick fur. He looked like a wolf but he seemed pretty nice. He followed Jade like a shadow and Dave wondered how she had gotten him to be so tame.

They approached a large house, about the same size as John's. She opened the door and lit a lamp, "Grandpa!"  
A rather short man entered from another room, "John!"  
John smiled and walked forward to hug the man, "You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you. It's been months hasn't it?"

John nodded. Dave was surprised such a close family waited so long to see each other when they lived so near each other. Jade asked him if she could stay at John's that night and the man nodded happily, "Of course!"He seemed glad she was socializing.

The three started the walk back to John's house. The walk was mostly silent save for Jade asking a few questions every once in a while, "So, if you don't mind my asking, Dave, where are you from?"

Dave had expected this. She didn't seem any less happy to be meeting him though so he had to assume curiosity got the best of her. He would have been curious too if someone with such dark hair had shown up at random In his village. The two village's genes were vastly different.

"Another village quite a way away from here."  
She nodded, "How old are you?"  
Dave seemed surprised, he hadn't actually asked anyone here how old they were, just assumed they were all the same age, "Almost seventeen years."  
Jade seemed happy with this answer, "So am I! John turned seventeen at the beginning of summer."  
Dave was actually pretty surprised that John was almost half a year older than him. His birthday was recognized as the first snow of the winter. The snow had already fallen here but his village wouldn't have snow at least for another couple weeks.

He would make it official whenever John's village got it's first heavy snow. It seemed it was on it's way already. The ground had been covered with ice the last few days when they woke up.

They arrived at John's house and Jake was sitting on John's bed, writing in some book. Dave plopped down beside him, surprising the boy. He hadn't seen them enter the room. Dave looked over his shoulder but Jake snapped the book shut, "That's my journal, nothing for you to read in there."  
He laughed. He set the book on the night stand next to John's bed and stood to hug Jade, "Haven't seen you all week Jade!"

She smiled, "I've been with my other friends."  
Dave wondered who her other friends were. John hadn't mentioned them.

The sun began to set. John went to fetch a lantern. He struck a match and lit it, casting yellow light over the entire room. They set to work setting up for the night. Dave already knew ahead of time they wouldn't be waking up until at least six. It was nearing eight o' clock right now. The sun was set completely.

They all went to the kitchen. If John hadn't told him he'd never had a sleepover, he never would have guessed. He seemed to know the proper sleepover etiquette anyhow. They pulled out some tarts that seemed to be kept up where they weren't supposed to be gotten into. John already knew his dad wouldn't mind though, he would be glad he was socializing with his family. They hadn't gotten together for quite some time.

He put the tarts on a wooden plate and he pulled down cups for everyone to fill with cold milk from the cooler. They all went back to John's room and sat around on the carpet. They began eating the snacks and Jake went first for story telling. Dave had never had a sleepover either so this was all new to him. He didn't even know telling stories was a thing people did at sleepovers.

Jake seemed to have it down. Maybe he had sleepovers with other friends? They seemed like they all were prepared for what a sleepover would require though. Maybe this was the kind of stuff they always did regardless of whether it was at night or not. Jake told stories of warriors and heroes. He made them sound so real and at times Dave wasn't sure if they were or not.

John seemed to have an understanding smile on his face and Dave leaned over, "What's the joke here, I know I'm missing something."  
John leaned back over, smile never leaving his face, "These are all old stories from Skaia."  
Dave finally understood. They were twisting old memories into fairy tale stories. He was enchanted by them. He could listen to Jake telling stories all night. He knew that when Jake was a little older, he would definitely take up a place beside John's dad telling stories. He had a skill.

Dave was sad when he stopped his stories though. John took the lantern next. His story was of interest to Dave and he knew exactly what it was referring to. He told about two fairings that came across a dark cave. They found a beautiful creature inside and lured it out into the sun where they could see it's beauty more clearly. They covered the entrance to the cave, demanding the creature stay outside where its beauty could be show to the world.

They wouldn't allow it back inside the darkness of the shadows but at the same time they kept it from the prying eyes of their colony. They wanted it all to themselves.

Jake seemed a bit unsure about the story, like he was suspicious of it's meaning. He smiled nonetheless though, seeming to enjoy it nonetheless. Jade seemed aglow at this tale and wanted to hear more about it. John simply shook his head when it was finished, going on to a new story, this time about something from their childhood that Dave could only guess the meaning to.

He wished he could have been their too. Jade's story was just as wonderful. He realized though when she finished that he was expected to tell a tale as well. He thought something over in his head, trying to think of something of interest that he could evolve into a story.

He finally thought something but he wasn't sure if it would really fit in with the stories the others told.


	6. Chapter 6

"There once was a knight. He road on the biggest horse known in his village. His village was also huge. It was full of towering buildings only the richest people could hope to afford. This knight was known to save people who needed help. He was looked up to in awe and everyone loved him. His dream was to become loved and known by everyone in every village.

"One day he left his village on the hunt for a new village to stay. He came across a small village full of dangerous people. He decided to rid the village of these dangerous people. He put them in their place, killed them all with a shining sword.

"He wasn't looked up to though. Everyone in the village called him a monster. He didn't understand why they couldn't be happy about all the good work he'd done; all the effort he'd put into making their village a better place. They threw him in a jail cell and locked him up. His armor was heavy and he took it all off, leaving him in regular clothes. The people of the village saw the knight in his cell where he cried himself to sleep every night, wondering what he had done wrong. They pitied him and gave him looks of disdain.

"He sat in the cell, surviving on the leftover food of the rich people of the village. They threw it at him in mock hatred. They really hated him and all he had done was try to help them. One day, he was tired of crying to himself. He pulled on his rusting armor and broke out of the jail. It was hard work getting out but once he was left to the cold night air, he knew he wouldn't regret leaving either.

"He found his horse hitched to a stranger's fence. He felt his anger rising up as he unhitched it and got on its back. His horse was glad he had come back for it and they rode off to a new village. This new village was small and the knight was hesitant to enter, scared he may be treated harshly. He didn't know who these people were. Maybe they were just like the people in the last village, mean and nasty with no common sense. He watched from a distance, longing to find solace inside the walls.

"He slept under a tree outside the village walls and watched the stars shining above him. He heard a voice not far away. He sat up, to see a beautiful woman wandering outside near the edge of the woods. She sang a beautiful song and he attempted to hear what she sang of. He stood and silently lead his horse closer, trying to hear what it was she was saying.

"He was shocked as a dark figured stalked her from the woods. He ran behind her, an arm thrown around her throat as he drug her into the woods. His hand muffled her screams and the knight was scared. What could he do? If he killed the man she might hate him. He might never learn what her song was about.

"He stood there, scared and unsure of what to do. But alas, He knew he had to save her. If she died there was definitely no way to know about the notes she sang. He jumped on his horse, pulling his sword from its sheath and spurring his horse forward. The horse seemed aware of the injustice and they road down the hill and into the woods.

"The girl was being held to a tree with a knife to her throat when the knight appeared, jumping from his horse and pulling his sword to rest at the man's neck, "Let her go," he yelled at the man. The stranger dropped his knife and ran at the sight of the brave knight. He knew he stood no chance. The knight wished he could kill the man but he stayed where he was and looked at the girl. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"He held out a hand to her and she took his happily, "Oh knight, who are you to save me in the middle of the night?"

"He was scared to tell her his name but told her quietly, whispering it quietly into her ear. She and he talked as they wandered through the woods. He was shocked as he found out she was a princess. She was one of the richest, one of the most beautiful, the kindest person he had ever met.

"He didn't know what he had done to deserve her kindness. He was shocked as she told him how much she liked him. How much she appreciated his deed. He had never been thanked so kindly. She kissed him on the lips and he pulled her onto his horse. They road back to the village and she offered him a place to stay. She asked him to please stay, not to leave.

"He accepted the offer graciously and wondered what God may have allowed him to be so lucky. "I love you," she told him. He couldn't have been happier than in that moment. He had finally found his place in the world. He didn't need the villagers of so many places to bow to him in appreciation, he had only hoped to find love somewhere along the way."

Dave finished his story and everyone seemed to be in awe. He didn't even know he was capable of storytelling. He had honestly made up how that story would be translated along the way. He had never told a story nonetheless tried to transform his life into one.

Jade had a look of pure amazement on her face, "That was awesome! IT was so romantic too! Who knew a guy could be so romantic especially while still making the story interesting!"  
She tried to keep her voice quiet so she wouldn't wake anyone up but her excitement showed through.  
Jake seemed astounded as well, "Good job! I say, I don't think I've ever heard a story as interesting!"

John was speechless though, finally building up enough energy to say something, "Wow... That was great! My story wasn't hardly as good..." He said this with conviction but he didn't seem sad about it. Dave felt his cheeks burning, "Thanks..." He hadn't ever received so many compliments.

Jade yawned, covering her mouth, "I'm tired. We should probably sleep."  
John nodded. He stood and pulled extra blankets from his closet. He pulled an extra pillow out, "I only have one extra pillow though."

He tossed the pillow on the floor, "We'll have to share."  
Jake lay the pillow down where he planned on sleeping and Jade pulled a blanket over, making it apparent they were sleeping together. John grabbed the pillow from his bed and the other blanket from the closet.

He and Dave laid down facing opposite directions. After a few minutes Jade could be heard snoring almost silently. Jake's chest rose and fell with each deep breath. Dave surely would have been asleep by now but John kept shifting. Dave had to guess he wasn't used to sleeping out of his bed. He probably would have just slept in his bed if it wasn't considered kind of rude.

He knew John and John went to extreme lengths to be as polite as possible when it came to having company over. He wouldn't let Jade and Jake sleep on the floor while he slept in his bed.

Dave's assumption was put to rest when John rolled over, sitting up behind him. He took a breath and tapped Dave on the shoulder, "Dave, are you asleep?"

Dave sat up, "No, you keep moving."  
John blushed, "Sorry... Can we talk?"  
Dave wondered where he was going with this, "What about?"  
John stood and held out a hand for him to stand too. Dave pulled himself up and they went outside, standing but the treeline.

"What was your story about?"  
"It was about a knight and a princess I thought it was obvious."  
John rolled his eyes, "I mean, me, Jake, and Jade were all telling stories from our lives. Those were all translations. Wasn't yours? I thought you caught on."  
Dave nodded, "Yeah, it was."

John seemed curious now, "You never told me you were in love! Who is she? Is she someone from my village or yours? Or maybe another one?"  
Dave's breathe caught in his throat, "Well that part hasn't actually happened yet. I just thought it would be appropriate to give the story a happy ending."  
John's smile fell, "Oh... Well can I hear about the real story? It's a little hard to tell what exactly happened when it's all in translation."

Dave didn't really like where this was going, "I... I guess. I'm not retelling the whole story though."  
John nodded, sitting down in the little bit of grass that circled the tree they stood by, waiting for Dave to go on.

Dave sat down too, "Well, pretty much, my life has been all about trying to look good. My brother took care of me my whole life. He wasn't too bad of a person but whenever I tried to do something good he wouldn't pay attention. He didn't really know how to be a parent I think. So I would always try to get people's attention around our village but the people in my village were all a bunch of assholes."

John nodded for him to continue, "So after a while, I got tired of trying to impress them. That's when I left a couple weeks ago. I didn't really expect to get anywhere. I guess I was pretty surprised when I came here and you guys were all really different than the people in my village."

John was biting his lip, "So I guess, you're still kind of looking for someone to love?"  
Dave was hesitant in his answer, "Yeah... I guess."  
John felt his face heat up, "Well... I love you in like... a best friend way?"  
Dave couldn't help a smile, "Yeah, me too."  
John seemed happy at that and hugged Dave. Dave jumped at the contact but hugged back.

They went back inside, this time falling asleep easier.

~~~

The morning came around much faster than expected. They had fallen asleep around ten. It was a lot later than either of them usually stayed up and they woke up at eight. Jake and Jade were both beginning to stir and Dave felt lazy. He didn't like sleeping that late.

He tapped John on the shoulder as he also started to wake up. The morning sun had risen hours ago. John sat up groggily, crawling across the floor to tap Jake and Jade on the shoulders. They both rubbed at their eyes, not eager to get up. They had gotten more sleep than John and Dave though so John had no sympathy for them.

They all woke to the sounds of breakfast being brought inside. Everyone else had already eaten and that was one thing John couldn't stand. He hated waking up after everyone else had eaten.

He grabbed a bowl from the kitchen and went outside to grab some leftovers before they were all taken inside. He served Dave too who was probably wondering where he'd gone. John brought the bowls inside to see Dave holding towels and clean clothes.

He set them on the bed as John brought him a bowl, "Jake, Jade, you guys should hurry, breakfast is being put away." They both jumped up to get food. The other people outside greeted them happily. They didn't come over to this half of the village much anymore.

John and Dave both went to the living room to eat, sitting at the small table and glancing at each other from opposite ends of the table.

Jake and Jade came inside after a couple minutes and sat down to eat with them. Dave suddenly thought of something, "Where's Bec?"  
Jade seemed unfazed, "He sleeps out in the field. He probably likes being in the wild still. I tamed him years ago but he doesn't like being locked inside. I tried that one time and by morning he was being aggressive." Dave nodded. And continued eating. Jade stood when she finished, holding out her arms for a hug, "I'd better get going. I need to go to the springs too but I need clothes from home.

John stood to hug her goodbye and Jake soon after. Dave continued eating but Jade stood there, waiting for a goodbye. He looked up, feeling a bit out of place before standing and hugging her too, "Bye," he said kind of awkwardly as he sat back down.  
She waved, "Bye, guys."

Dave finished eating just before John and Jake and they all grabbed their clothes and towels to head to the springs. If Dave had been nervous about going to the springs with John he was extra nervous about adding Jake to the mix. He just didn't really like people seeing any part of his naked body it was nerve-wracking.

They all got to the spring and while Jake used the same general side as John, Dave went to the other side like usual, stripping down quickly and slipping into the water before either would have a chance to see him undressed. He had always been a little self-conscious about his body. There really wasn't a reason to be he was completely normal but he had a lot of little insecurities that he liked to hide.

They all washed up and Dave was quick to dry off and dress. This time he went that extra length and dressed behind the boulder he usually laid his clothes over. John didn't seem to question his sudden shy nature. He was probably pretty understanding. He was more than likely used to dressing and undressing in his cousin's presence.

Dave sat on top of said boulder and waited for Jake and John to finish dressing, his eyes downcast. He jumped from his seat and they went back to John's house. Jake was slow in parting ways but he had to go home eventually.

John wondered what they should do. They didn't have much left to do at Skaia. He decided it was time. He really hated this.

He made a silent motion for Dave to follow him and they headed through the woods. They came to find Skaia standing the same as it had yesterday. They went inside and Dave started up a fire, sitting on the edge of the fireplace, warming his back with the flames. John sighed.

He sat on the edge of the bed frame and pulled the wooden box over to sit in front of him, digging for materials. He grabbed the long length of brown material and thread. He really fucking hated sewing. The woman who mended his clothes taught him how. He set to work. It was such a slow process, the minutes just dragged on by as if they were in no hurry to pass by.

Finally John looked up, "How long has it been?"  
Dave thought about this, "Five minutes?"  
John whined, "Geez this sucks, go get firewood or something. We still need to build up our firewood stash. Once it starts to snow there's no way we'll be able to find any dry wood to burn."  
Dave nodded, standing up and leaving the cabin-like building to go search for wood. He left the door open and John was tempted to move this outside but he didn't want to get the fabric dirty. He cut the fabric as carefully as he could, willing himself not to cut it wrong. He ran the needle through the material with skill. He used to make small things a lot in his free time but once he was old enough to go play out in the woods and do some more interesting things he quickly grew out of the hobby.

The hours went by as slowly and painfully as they could as if they knew John was doing the most painstakingly boring task in existence. Dave came back after a while and could be heard stacking branches against the side of the building. John called out, "How long has it been?!"  
"I don't know maybe an hour?"  
He slouched uncomfortably, heaving a sigh of great effort. He had only effectively sewn along half the side of what would soon be a mattress. He moved to the next half of that side, biting his lip in concentration.

It took many more hours of Dave collecting firewood, John asking how long it had been, and John pricking his fingers before the hunk of brown fabric was beginning to look anything like a sewn piece of handiwork. He was determined to finish this before nightfall. Seeing as he'd started at about ten, he had been working on this for nearly four hours. Two full sides had been finished.

The sun finally began to set and Dave came in to see him lying down tiredly on the bed frame.


	7. Chapter 7

John held up something Dave had to guess was meant to be a mattress but it was empty. He looked it over, walking forward and taking it in his hands to inspect it. It was pretty impressively sewn and looked strong. There was a hole at one corner that he had to guess had been left there to fill it.

"Looks good."  
John curled into a ball, "Good, I'll wake up in a few days."  
Dave scoffed, "No you wont."  
He leaned down and scooped up his friend in his arms, John panicked at first but stopped flailing when he saw the highly amused look Dave was giving him, "Put me down!"

Dave shrugged, "Naw, I think I'll carry you."  
John was tempted to try knocking him over but with a fireplace so close he decided not to risk something stupid happening.

Dave finally put him down and he folded up the mattress material and put it in the closet with the blankets. He rethought this and took it back out. He wasn't carrying armloads of cotton out here he'd have to fill it back at the village. The one thing he wondered about though was how he was going to pull off carrying a mattress back to the cabin without anyone noticing or without getting it dirty.

He thought this over again. Maybe he should think of another way of doing this. He set it down on top of the blankets again and closed the closet door.

As they exited the cabin, John noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He swung around, gaping at the wood pile. His jaw dropped and Dave stood beside him with satisfaction written all over his face. The pile was huge. The wood from the first pile was stacked up all the way as far as the roof would allow and then a new pile had been started in front of the old pile.

John stared, "Hooolly shiiit!"  
Dave couldn't help but be overly satisfied with his reaction, "Yeah, you were sewing for a long fucking time."  
John couldn't even respond. He just gaped. Dave must have been working really hard. John turned to his friend and before Dave could react, he hugged him, making Dave's face grow warm, "Yeah yeah, get off me."

John was still smiling the hugest smile, "I guess we wont have to worry about finding wood for a while."  
Dave nodded. They had a huge pile that could last at least halfway through winter if not all the way through. It would depend on how much of it they used.

Dave still had no intent to let John get off free though, he had been doing the harder work. It wasn't hard to find branches lying around on the floor of the woods but John had been working with a needle and that was by far, more than what Dave expected of him. Not only had he been working with a needle, he had been sewing for almost eight hours. He must have been losing his mind by the end of that. Now that he thinks about it, that must be why he was almost passed out when Dave came back.

He probably did want to sleep for a few days. Dave held out his arms, "Here."  
John raised an eyebrow, "What?"  
"Get on my back."  
John hadn't had a piggyback ride since he was just a little kid. He was hesitant but finally gave in as he felt the tiredness of the day's work settling over him. He put his hands on Dave's shoulders and hopped forward to put his legs around his hips. He hung his arms around Dave's neck and Dave could feel him drifting off about halfway home. He cheek was rested against Dave's neck and Dave liked feeling like he was of some use. He knew his friend was tired and let's face it, it isn't hard to collect firewood.

Dave walked around the Northern and cut through the trees when he found himself behind John's house. It was past dinner time and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was turning a dark shade of blue and he noticed a few people were cleaning up dishes and putting food away. A few watched him questioningly as he carried John inside his house.

His dad was sitting on the couch and smiled at him as he walked back to John's bedroom. He was careful as he leaned back, trying to get John to slide off his back. He successfully managed to get him off his back and lowered him carefully by the arms until he was laying on his bed.

He wondered about pajamas. He didn't think John would particularly mind not wearing pajamas but the clothes he was in might be pretty uncomfortable to sleep in. As he thought this over, John woke up. His eyes opened slowly, his hands immediately moving to rub the sleep from them. He looked up at Dave and then noticed he was in his room, "Did I fall asleep on you?"

Dave had to chuckle at the absurdity in how literal that sentence was, "Yeah."  
"I'm sorry." He sat up.  
"No, It's fine."  
Dave pulled his shoes off and set them by his side of the bed, John doing the same. They both changed into pajamas and Dave laid down quietly on his half of the bed, tucking the blankets around himself.

He was starting to drift off when he heard John's voice, quiet, "Dave?"  
Dave waited for him to say something else but he seemed hesitant in talking to him, maybe thinking he was asleep, "Yeah?"  
John waited a moment, maybe wondering how to say something, "Have you... Have you ever been in love?"

Dave was surprised at the question, his cheeks going warm, "I don't know."  
John bit his lip, "Oh... Okay."  
Dave wouldn't let him off that easy, "Why?"  
John had been expecting this, "I just wondered."  
Dave didn't like that kind of vague answer but he didn't press on.  
He was surprised when John continued, "I just, always wondered how you're supposed to know when you're in love if you've never been sure if you've felt it."

Dave nodded. That made sense. He fell asleep though, too tired to wonder about the conversation.

~~~

They woke early the next morning, eager to get food to eat. They had been skipping lunch recently because of being at the cabin and they'd missed dinner last night. Both were weary from lack of food and working hard.

They each got bowls full of bread and berries, treating themselves to some milk from inside John's personal ice chest. They had some animals they kept in a pasture near the midpoint between John's and Jade's houses. John made a mental note to show Dave their cows sometime.

They decided this time to be wise about it and bring some fruit with them to snack on throughout the day. Before leaving though, John dug out some gold coins from the jar in his wardrobe and pulled Dave along to James' house. They knocked on the door, James answering happily, "Morning boys! What can I do for ya?"

John invited himself in and he and Dave stood in the doorway, "Would you mind going over to Miriam's and getting some cotton? I need some to fill up the mattress I finished sewing yesterday. It's the same size as the frame so do you think you can guess how much to get? Oh also, If she's out of cotton or this won't cover the price, wool is fine too."

James took the coins John held out, "Sure can. I'll be back in a minute then."  
He opened the door to get past the boys and walked through a few shops until he got to the crafting materials store.

John sat down at the bench by the counter and Dave leaned against the counter while they waited.  
"So who is Jame's exactly?"  
"Family friend. He and Dad were friends when they were younger. They talk as much anymore but they're still pretty good friends. Me and him have been getting along ever since I was old enough to talk. "

James came back inside the shop with a couple backs of wool. The cleaned wool was handed to John and John examined it, "This isn't very much, is th-"  
"That's not all of it. She doesn't have any bags bigger than that though so she had to use a few."  
He left to get the rest and came back with three more. The cloth bags were big and heavy with wool. They were tied on the top with twine. John tested their weight, "Wow, this should do. Thanks James, keep the change if you have any."

James seemed delighted whenever John came to him for help, probably because John was generous and didn't mind sharing his wealth. James seemed fairly middle-class compared to the other buildings around. He probably enjoyed a taste of the riches.

Dave and John carried the heavy bags to the Northern entrance and Dave, only carrying two of the five, carried the bowl of fruit, attempting not to drop any fruit on their trip through the woods.

John seemed to have the most fun stuffing all the wool into the mattress. The fluffy stuffing was easier to handle than the tiny needlework he'd had to do yesterday. Dave helped him for part of it. The end of the mattress was starting to droop off the edge of the bed while John was taking up part of the frame for sitting on. Dave held the mattress off the ground, trying to keep it from dragging on the cement.

John took out the needle begrudgingly to sew the last corner shut. That part was pretty easy work but he hated even picking up the needle after everything he'd dealt with yesterday.

The mattress was calling them to lay on it but John wanted to add the buttons first. He had gotten buttons to sew through it to keep each side evened out. He stitched each one onto the mattress, adding a certain look to it that made it seem more put together. The needle was tossed haphazardly into the wooden box of tools he had collected over the past few days and he put the wooden box into the closet with purpose as if to say goodbye to all the hard work they'd had to put into the bed.

Now they were totally prepared for camping. He really wanted to get the chance to sleep out here sometime. They could stay up late, watch the stars, sit by the water and watch it run in the dark. Something seemed so enchanting about living on their own if only for a night, free of rules and restrictions.

He pulled the mattress into place and took one of the big blankets from the closet to spread over the top of it, tucking the extra edges of the blanket under the mattress. If they camped out here he'd have to bring his own pillows. He didn't have enough will power to sew anything else.

They each lay on opposite sides of the bed, legs hanging off the ends to keep their shoes from getting it dirty. Dave was glad John was done with the bed not only because then they could rest somewhere comfortable at lunchtime but because he no longer had to spend all day sewing. Yesterday had been boring, collecting wood all alone with no one to talk to.

John seemed in agreement with this thought, "I am so glad that crap is done."  
Dave nodded and sat up, grabbing the bowl of fruit. They took their shoes off and snacked in silence, both looking at each other quizzically while they ate.

When the bowl was half empty, Dave put his shoes back on and waited for instructions. John decided to save his for later too and put his shoes on, standing up and walking to the opened front door. Dave followed him. John stared at the river in wonder, seeming to be thinking something over. Dave was about to ask what he was thinking about when he spoke up, "We should totally make a cooler."

Dave raised an eyebrow, "What for?"  
John shrugged, "I dunno. Even if we don't ever use it, it's kind of fun making this place feel like its actually a home."  
Dave could see what he meant. They already had a bed here, even if they only used it once or twice they put a lot of work into it and it made the whole building feel a bit more like a second home.

He shrugged, "Well, we could but how would we go about doing that?" John didn't have an answer to that.  
"I have no idea. Maybe we could wait a few days and then do it. We don't really need one anyway so we could just wait until the need to build arises."  
Dave nodded and they went outside. John kind of wanted to build a dock of sorts that they could sit on when they wanted to be outside but he was in no kind of mood to build anything right now. He'd have to go all the way back to the shop and have James carry stuff out here with them again and that was no easy task.

The two decided instead to sit on the big boulder that took it's place a few yards from the cabin. Dave hadn't climbed it before and John hadn't climbed it since he was a kid. John showed him where to put his feet to climb to the top. John had always loved this rock because when you got to the top you could sit comfortably on the almost completely flat surface.

They watched the river flow by in silence. It only seemed to be about eleven. They didn't have much to do. John made a mental note to introduce Dave to some of his books. Usually, when John wasn't spending his days building and cleaning, he was reading through his collection of books. His dad, when out hunting and trading, would often stumble upon writers. They sold their books for a handsome price and these books were one of John's most prized possessions.

He would have to make sure Dave read them.


	8. Chapter 8

John decided since it was early and they had nothing in particular to do here, they should go back for lunch. They snacked on berries on the way back and Arrived just as people were serving. John watched them through the trees and decided with so many people around it would be safer to come in through the northern.

They cut through behind John's house and joined the line, serving the meat offered. They had been eating so many berries lately they were growing tired of them.

Lunch went as usual. That night they were having fire-time, a gathering they did every season where they all got together. They would talk, eat desserts people brought, some people would play instruments while other people danced by fire-light. It was John's favorite part of every season and he was glad Dave was here to share it with.

The bonfire was built and the flames reached out for the night sky. John brought out a blanket to lay out. Dave seemed floored at him putting it on the dirty ground but it could be washed. He used this blanket especially for fire-time. He generally didn't like getting his blankets dirty either but he had to sit on something.

James had brought out the benches he kept inside the shop. Other people brought out benches they owned as well but the majority of people sat on blankets.

Someone who looked a lot like John was standing up as everyone else sat down. It was an older woman with a violin. Dave watched in aw. He had never seen a violin in person, they were expensive and hard to make. Everyone began to quiet down as she started to play a slow, sad tune. Dave watched John as he noticed his friend's face changing expressions. His heart clenched as he saw one of the saddest looks. His expression was almost in the line of depressed.

It made Dave want to do something to make him happy. His expression changed with the song, like he knew what every note meant. Dave would have to ask him about this later. The tune picked up slightly and John let a smile slowly form on his face. Dave couldn't help but feel like this song had a story behind it just like the tales they told at the sleepover, many lost memories combined to make something beautiful that everyone could enjoy in one way or another.

Alas, her song came to a close and she sat down on a blanket. Dave watched her sit down next to Jade and his thought that she looked similar to John was affirmed. That must be his grandma.

Another person stood up that looked nothing like John. Dave had no guess who this man might be. He had a violin as well. This whole village was better off than his own. He was glad he had a chance to find such an amazing place.

The man started playing a slightly quick tune that many people began dancing to. He felt his heart skip a beat when John held out a hand to him. He laughed and stood up to dance with him in the open expanse of grass between the fire pit and the hill he'd first walked down to get here.

The song wasn't suited to slow dancing. Instead they danced how everyone else was dancing, something along the lines of square dancing but with just the two of them. Dave had never actually danced with anyone before. He was kind of scared to screw up since all the people sitting still took to watching anyone who was on their feet.

He couldn't help but smile back at John who had also only gotten to really dance with anyone a few times. His smile was as contagious as they could get.

After a while, the violin music died down and those dancing stopped to catch their breath. John was grinning as he panted for air. He decided to collapse on his blanket in the grass. Dave followed suit and after a few minutes Jade joined them. She was smiling too. She sat with them, "Hey Jade."  
John smiled at her and they watched as someone new came to stand in front of the fire.

John was so excited, Dave had been waiting to hear stories from his dad and now was the perfect time. His dad always repeated village favorites during fire-time.

They all payed close attention as his dad sat down on a stool in front of the fire. Dave looked up, noticing the silence throughout the villagers. They looked expectant and it was only now he noticed John's dad sitting there. He knew right away what was happening and his grin grew uncharacteristically large as he watched.

Unlike the little tales he, John, Jade, and Jake had thought up, these stories were real. They may be a bit exaggerated but they were real nonetheless.

John's dad finally looked up from the fire, "The storm was loud and intimidating but there was no way stopping was an option." Dave's jaw dropped as he heard the first words being spoken. His dad's voice was different than Dave had heard it before. It held character and he sounded convincing. John, who he'd also been watching, lit up at the first sentence. He leaned over, "This is a good one," he whispered excitedly.

"There was a mountain in front of us and we had to go through it whether we wanted to or not. We had things to do on the other side and the storm would just have to be ignored.

"We started up the first open trail. We hadn't been through this mountain range before and it was unfamiliar. Our horses tried to protest but we had to calm them down. They were no more afraid of the storm than us and they would have to keep going. They pulled the caravan up the steep trail, trying to pull back. We knew this was dangerous but it wasn't something we could stop.

His father stood now, acting out the story as it went, just like Dave always imagined a storyteller might,

"The path was slippery and loose rocks caused us to trip up often. It wasn't until we stopped in the woods that night that disaster struck. We could all hear it and we were all woken up by it. Each man, each hunter stood at the ready, swords drawn and bows at the ready, but the monster that approached was nothing compared to what we expected. It was a nasty bear.

"Legends may have been handed down threw families about bears. But let me tell you, let me tell all of you, bears are not some little fairy tale creature, they are much bigger than any of us. They are the most monstrous creatures living in the wild of the Prospit mountain range.

"Standing on his back legs, he can reach the size of a building."

Many of the little kids here gasped at this as if they hadn't expected it. Maybe it was their first time at fire-time. Or maybe the ambiance was too much to say no to.

"I had my sword out but the thought of getting close enough to slay the beast was just terrifying, even to a mighty warrior as myself."

Dave noticed John giggling quietly at that.

"We went at it with all we could. The arrows were fired, and the beast was furious. It came at us with all it had and we were scared, but fear couldn't stop the inevitable so we fought. We swung our swords, we fired arrows, and the bear wouldn't stop. It only seemed to get angrier and angrier until we were forced to make a plan.

"You can only stop for so long under conditions so while attempting to fend it off, we gathered close. The plan we had was an obvious one. We would have to charge it all at once. So I stood at the ready and counted to three."

The villagers seemed entranced in the story, as if they were all actually right there in the Prospit mountain range with them. The dark sky and the sudden howl of an animal, probably Bec, added to the effect and had some of the littler kids cowering in their parent's arms.

"One."

The fire popped.

"Two!"

This time he spoke louder,

"Three!"

He raised his voice to sound more domineering and desperate in his attempt to make the story seem real, to make himself sound as if he were reliving the whole thing right there in front of the curious eyes of the villagers, "We ran forward as fast as we could, our swords were held tight in clenched hands and the bear came at us too. The archers let their arrows go from the right side, hitting the bear and hindering its running. We fought until our swords were red and our hearts were skipping faster than they should have been. Blood stained the ground where the bear stood seconds ago. He lay in a pool of red and we all watch with sadness as the poor beast's life came to an end.

"We left the next morning, leaving behind the memories of that fight, our greatest fight. A war. We took our caravan over the mountain and til this day have never faced another bear again, as if that lone carcass was a message to all wild beasts that our warriors skills are nothing to take for granted."

With this, John's dad bowed and left the stool to sit alone in front of the fire. Dave was still staring in awe. John still couldn't help but giggle and Dave, offended at his lack of awe, turned to him, "What are you laughing at?"

John shook his head and whispered quietly, "His trips are so boring, they're almost nothing like the stories he tells. I've gone with him before."

He continued smiling, "Seems to be good for the villagers though, they don't know any better."  
Dave looked around to the awestruck faces of those gathered around. He did, however, notice a few of the larger men smiling too, likely some of the 'warriors' that had gone hunting with John's dad.

Dave couldn't help but be amused at John's revelation. With this, the night came to a close with all of the women of the village going back to their houses and bringing back desserts they had cooked earlier that day. Dave's mouth was watering as he picked up a plate and followed John through the line, picking out as much of the delicious food as he could.

He had never in a million years thought anyone did things like this. He didn't know what family was like, what friends were like. He didn't know there was such a friendly village in existence, one that shared desserts and played music for each other; one that danced and smiled, not because they had done something notable, but because they were truly happy to be where they were.

Dave sat back down on the blanket he and John shared and dug into the pie he had sitting on his plate with many other treats.

Jade had come back to sit with them again too and was harboring just as many baked goods on her plate as Dave. The three ate while laughing and making comments about places they'd gone and things they'd done. John told about his first hunting trip. His dad had only taken him on a few and his first one was surprisingly his most successful. He managed to kill a rabbit with a knife when his dad wasn't looking.

He didn't remember very clearly exactly how it happened but it had more or less been an accident that he cried over later on. Dave smirked at this. His dad decided he shouldn't go hunting very often then. He had only gone one other time and mostly just sat in the caravan and came out during the trades.

Dave had never really left his village until just recently when he ran away. He didn't tell them this of course. What kid has never left their village by the age of seventeen? He was practically a man. He bit his lip, listening quietly to Jade talking about the one time she had gone with Alara, James' wife, to find herbs. She had gone that particular trip with the hunters and Jade had been with John a lot of the time, helping Alara only when she asked her to. She really wasn't much for picking through undefinable green plants for colorful flowers that can be used in paint.

Dave was getting tired and John decided it was time to sleep. It was late, maybe even midnight. He took Dave's and Jade's plates to the table where they would be collected and came back to shake out his blanket and fold it enough to carry it back to his house.

Jade hugged each of them goodnight and they parted ways. John left the blanket with his and Dave's dirty clothes in the basket by his bedroom door. He changed into pajamas and he and Dave both got into bed, pulling the blankets in tight around their necks to keep warm, both falling asleep within minutes.

John's eyes flew open. What time was it? And what on earth was that racket? John threw the covers back and stood from his bed, eager to know what was happening. No one made noise in the middle of the night, for good reason. It was probably about three in the morning at this point. He knew he hadn't been sleeping that long. He was still tired. He ran quietly to his dad's bedroom and looked out his window, the only window in the house that you could look out of without being seen from the front. He could clearly see now. There was a man in their village that didn't belong in their village.

John suddenly felt a cold fear grip him and he watched as the man switched harsh words with one of their neighbors, demanding to know where the leader of the village was. Their neighbor demanded a reason to be awoken so late before he would show where their leader was. The man said he was looking for someone. Someone who looked like him.

John knew who he wanted. He wanted Dave. And John wouldn't let him take him. Just as the neighbor was pointing at their house, John was sprinting through the house back to his bedroom, he grabbed a bag from his closet and hurriedly started throwing things inside of it. He put in clean clothes, he threw in the spare pillow, he put as many little necessities as he could as his heart raced.

He could hear a knock on their door and his dad rising from his bed. The knocking turned to pounding and John was at Dave's side instantly, a hand coming to cover his mouth and his mouth by his ear, "Dave! Dave wake up. Wake up. Shhh." Dave came too and sat up quickly, sensing the urgency behind John's voice. His adrenaline was already rushing, as if he knew what was happening. John watched his eyes fly to the front door and within seconds he was up and standing.

He turned to look at John whose eyes were wide. He shook his head and held a finger over his mouth. He had no choice now. They were leaving. He wasn't about to let Dave be taken back to the shitty excuse for a village he'd been told about. He went to the emergency escape next to his window and pulled a key from the front of his wardrobe, shoving it into a lock and hoping the fists pounding would drown out the clicking and turning of the lock. He shoved Dave out the side-door and grabbed the bag, shoving it in his arms.

He made a made dash for his closet, grabbing a long metal tube with a strap around it and slinging it over his back, grabbing both of their shoes. He gave Dave his while he made a mad dash to pull them on, not caring if they were on correctly. John could hardly hear over her his pounding heartbeat, "He has to be somewhere in this village it's the only place around for miles. He's only been gone a few days, he's slow. He can't have gotten far." John could see the pissed look Dave was making as he fumed in the emergency exit doorway. John grabbing the jar from his wardrobe and shoved it in the bag Dave was now holding. He took the bag and shut the emergency escape door.

The two took off to the woods, the last thing John heard was the beautiful sound of his dad saying, "I saw someone like that out in the woods but he didn't stop here. Now leave our village now and stop raising a panic." John could clearly see from his scope out in the trees that there were people standing all around outside their houses, wondering what the noise was, just like John had when he first woke up.

He knew Dave must have wondered where they were going. They were going the opposite direction of Skaia. John ran fast and hard, his feet hitting the dirt silently in his flexible leather shoes. Dave was close behind, his adrenaline rushing through his veins to the point where he could hold his hands still, they shook uncontrollably with the fear.

He wouldn't be taken away from the luxury and kindness he's been offered here. He knew his bro wouldn't give up either. He would be around, and he would be searching.

John stopped at a wooden fence and threw a leg through the middle of the two wooden beams. Dave followed and looked around, surprised. Cows. So many cows.

John searched around with his eyes before running at one with a bright blue tag on it's ear. He slowed as he approached it, trying to keep from scaring it. Dave followed suit and John stroked the cow's nose, "I'd have loved to show you my cow on better terms but I'm not leaving without her. This is Casey."  
Dave nodded but didn't want to stand around wasting time. John ran a hand over her back before hoisting himself up on her back. The cow was huge and Dave didn't think he'd be able to get on but John directed it towards a fence which Dave used to pull himself up onto her with.

John ducked low against her back, trying not to draw attention. They headed for a gate near the edge of the woods. Dave was scared, he would admit it. His bro was wandering the village right now and the second he caught sight of them, he would be after them. He wouldn't stop. His brother was a control freak and he wouldn't let Dave go without putting up a fight.

John jumped down and unlocked the gate, leading the cow through and shutting it behind them before grabbing the reigns from around the cows neck, leading it to the northern entrance. The cow kept up with John's running and Dave may never admit it but he was holding onto that thing for dear life, because hell if he'd ever been on such a huge animal.

They entered the woods and the cow immediately became weary. John seemed to know how to handle it. Casey made it through the northern loop without fault but as soon as they started on the trail to Skaia, she started to walk haltingly. Dave was embraced with a sound he hadn't heard before. A slow lullaby was being sung by none other than John. They traversed through the woods quickly, in a panic. Their hearts still beating out of time. Dave could hardly breathe straight.

John continued singing and halfway through, Dave stopped him. He got off the cow, tripping and catching himself on a tree. John got on and thanked Dave before laying down on her back and singing more quietly. He let his hand run over her brown fur. Dave didn't like animals much but somehow this cow seemed to understand this was an urgent matter and he had to respect that.

She didn't put up anymore protest as John sung words in a language Dave had never heard. The two miles from John's house to Skaia had never seemed so never-ending.

They finally caught sight of the willow branches hanging over the entrance and stopped. John, whose eyes were close, seemed to notice the change in pace and sat up to see their wonderful house. He supposed he had had this idea all along. It was their one safe place where they could go when things went wrong. He hadn't thought Dave's brother would actually find them in his village but even in any other emergency, he had a place of refuge. He had always thought of Skaia as a place of refuge even before he met Dave, but now, it was _their_ place of refuge.

John got off Casey and tied her reigns to the tree between their cabin and the river. He went inside wearily to get the metal basin from the closet, filling it with river water and putting it near Casey's resting place. He went inside with Dave following. They took their shoes off and closed the door.

John slumped onto the bed and watched the fireplace that was still smoldering from yesterday morning. He was tempted to light a fire to keep them warmer but he knew the smoke would only attract Dave's brother to their hiding place. He could light one in a few days but until then it should stay out.

He didn't realize he was crying until Dave knelt in front of him and he felt his thumb wiping along his cheek to brush away hot tears. He looked down to meet soft red eyes and he couldn't help but feel better. He wasn't alone here.

Dave leaned forward and John bit his lip, hugging back, feeling reassured in his friend's embrace. Dave sat down beside him and John went to the closet to pull out the blankets he had brought here. He let them unfold and tossed them over the bed. He hoped they would be enough to keep them warm. He went to the bag he had brought and pulled out the pillow. He tossed it onto the bed and tonight was an exception. Dave didn't seem to mind when John fell asleep with an arm draped over his chest, his face pressed against his arm. Tonight was an exception.


	9. Chapter 9

John woke up the next morning to feel Dave's hand covering his own where it rest on his chest. He hadn't noticed he fell asleep last night with his face buried in Dave's arm either. He didn't seem to mind though so John just pretended it didn't happen.

He sat up to remember the previous night's events and a sudden fear grabbed hold of him. He was happy to be out here with Dave. He wasn't scared of being alone. He was scared that Dave's brother would find them and then he would really be alone.

John felt more tears running down his cheeks and wiped them away harshly, trying to get a hold on himself. He pushed the blankets back and pulled them back over Dave as he stood to look out the window. It looked like it was about six o' clock. His dad was probably worried sick about him. He would just have to forget about his village for now.

He walked over to his bag, sitting next to the closet, and dug through it for the food he'd grabbed from the kitchen last night. He had only had enough time to get a few things though so it wasn't very full.

He pulled out some bread that had mixed in with everything else in the bag. He grabbed the old chipped dishes in the closet and set three on the floor next to the fireplace. He broke a few pieces off the loaf and set them on two of the plates, next getting the container of berries he had put in there. They weren't cold from the ice chest anymore but they would still taste good.

He put them on the plates too and next grabbed two of the old cups he had sitting on the shelves in the closet. He went outside and prayed to whatever god might listen that Casey hadn't been milked recently. He took note that she was probably due t be milked and sighed in relief.

Dave woke to the sound of a moo. He raised an eyebrow before remembering that there was a cow outside and they were residing in the middle of the woods. He lay back and closed his eyes. He wouldn't be expecting any food, no fresh cooked breakfast. There would be no breakfast with Jake and Jane. There would be no trip to the hot springs. There would be no happy 'good morning' to John's dad. He would probably just get up and sit with John, feeling sorry for himself.

He sat up and went outside to see John kneeling on the ground in his pajamas and milking the cow. He raised an eyebrow. He hadn't thought of that. Well that was good news. John smiled when after he picked up the now filled glasses of milk and stood up to see Dave had woken up, "Morning."

He went back inside and Dave followed to see he'd missed the sight of breakfast sitting right in front of him. He smiled and gave John a hug, "Thanks."

John seemed content with his response and they both sat down by the cold, empty fireplace to eat their breakfast.

As soon as they had finished eating, John stood up and handed his plate to Dave, "You go wash the dishes, I have some things to do."

Dave could only imagine what John had to do but he wasn't about to complain about washing dishes at a time like this.

They were in the middle of the woods by now so the trees weren't as thick. John untied Casey and hopped on her back to ride away until Dave couldn't see him anymore. John had the metal tube slung over his back and a knife in his pocket. He managed to get Casey through the woods without much complaint on her part and he was off to find things. He needed to find a hot spring first of all. He knew there was one around here somewhere. He had heard some other kids in his village talking about it a long time ago, always assuming it was connected to the one he had back near his house. He searched for over an hour before spotting steam rising up in a clearing.

He was so glad when he'd found it that he jumped off of Casey and was tempted just to jump in in his clothes. He refrained and decided to tell Dave first. He got back on her and looked around trying to remember which direction he'd come from.

He knew he was still fairly close to their camp because he had been wandering around within a mile. He had searched in a mile long radius of their cabin and it had to be here somewhere. He road back in the direction he though it was in but was stopped a few minutes later by the sight of a deer. His eyes widened. He hadn't expected to see one so soon.

He was hesitant to pull the tube from his back, moving slowly so he didn't startle the animal that could only be a hundred yards away. He popped the top off the tube and pulled a bow into his hands, stringing it and grabbing one of the pointed arrows that made its home in the bottom. He jumped off of Casey and attached the arrow, pulling back and aiming very carefully.

This shot was easy; it was so close. He let it loose and the arrow whistled through the air for only a few seconds before making impact. John gasped to see he had hit the best in the side but it was in no way a kill. The animal fell, writhing in place. John bit his lip, wishing he didn't have to experience this. He was in no way meant to be a hunter and this was almost torture for him to take part in. he pulled the knife from hie belt and jogged forward, leaving Casey tied to a tree.

He approached the deer who was bleeding a pool of red on the ground. His hand was unsure as he took the knife to its throat, closing his eyes and only opening them when he felt a sick liquid running over his hands. He was on his knees in an instant, his hands hanging in midair, not sure where to go without getting blood on his clothes. He was sobbing uncontrollably and he felt the weight of the world suddenly falling on him and he couldn't believe he had just taken the life of an unsuspecting animal.

He wiped the tears away with his sleeve and struggled to get a hold of himself. He had done this so he and Dave could eat. He wasn't killing for the sport of it, he was doing it to survive.

With this, he stood and walked back to Casey's side to put his bow away and grab the rope from where it hung around her neck. He tied the deer's feet and struggled to figure out how he would get it back to camp. He would have to get it up on Casey's back somehow. The deer wasn't very big but he felt guilty putting all that weight on his cow.

He sighed and grunted as he hoisted and pulled the beast into place. It was hard work and took him nearly ten minutes but eventually it was on her back and he was covered in blood that he would rather not think about. He kept leading Casey straight in the direction he had decided his camp was in and was surprised at how accurate his guess had been.

He found himself about 50 feet to the right of his camp and turned upon seeing it. Dave looked up, eyes wide as John entered camp, "Holy shit! Are you okay?"  
John nodded reassuringly and led Casey to the river, "I found a hot spring... And dinner."  
Dave took in the sight of the deer he'd caught and nodded, "Yeah, that's probably big enough to be dinner for a week."

John smiled, feeling a little better that he wouldn't have to do this again for a while. Dave had apparently gotten bored while John was gone. He looked in the river to find a huge pile of rocks that rose above the water's edge, "What's that for?"

Dave seemed proud of his work, "Just for whatever. I just figured I'd make a dam for whatever reason. Didn't have much else to do and a dam can come in use in lots of ways."

The river wasn't very wide in this part of the woods so Dave probably hadn't had to try very hard at blocking it up. The hardest part was probably finding all the rocks to use. They were all pretty big and he'd probably just found them all in the woods. John looked up at the deer on Casey's back, "Can I put the deer on top of them? That way it wont get dirt all over it and the water can keep it kind of clean... or something."

Dave seemed to agree with this idea. It made sense in some ways. He helped John pull the deer down and lay it on top of the dam, tying the long rope from its feet to the tree by the river, just in case.

John was glad the spring was pretty close to their house overall. He didn't like walking forever to get to the spring. It was probably even closer than the one at his old house. They went inside and got some of the clean clothes from the bag and lay them on the bed with some towels John had brought too. He knew there were already some here but he wanted more just in case.

They emptied the rest of the bag while they were at it. There was the jar of money, which was put on the shelf in the closet. There was still more bread left, which was put on the third plate from that morning and put it on the edge of the fireplace for lack of a better location.

Dave ended up carrying John's clothes and towel because John was still covered in blood. His knees were stained red from sitting on the ground, his face had streaks of blood on it from subconsciously brushing hair from his face, his shirt was covered from hoisting the deer onto Casey's back. He decided these were his new hunting clothes.

They got to the springs without any problems. Dave seemed happy to see it and made quick work of pulling his clothes off. John was quick to follow and was happy when the red stains on his skin began to vanish in the steamy water. They took their time washing and relaxing in the hot water until John started to get eager to get back to camp and clean up that deer. He soon realized his mistake; he should have skinned it before bathing. He would either have to go back after he was finished or he'd have to wash in the river. He sighed and Dave seemed to realize the problem.

They both got dressed and went back to the cabin, John pulling his clean clothes off down to his undershorts. He knelt down on top of the dam and pulled out the knife he had in a cover on Casey's reigns. He braced himself and bit his lip as he began the tedious work his dad had shown him so long ago.

He had never liked the idea of hunting or skinning and chose to appreciate the food without thinking of where it came from. His hands were stained red when he was finished. He told Dave to go get the wooden box from in the closet and to empty it out. He had nowhere else to put it. The big box was brought out and long strips of meat were put inside, ready to be cooked. John hadn't wanted to start any fires for a few days but his plan hadn't been thought through and if he didn't cook this his work would go to waste.

He asked Dave to start a fire and grabbed a metal pot from the closet. He put water in it and hung it on the unused hook the hung down from the top of the fireplace. The water boiled and John put strips of meat inside, pulling out spices he had smuggled over here on a container that he was lucky hadn't spilled all over in his bag. He added salt and a few other things before the meat smelled like a gift from god.

He put the pot on the cement floor when it was finished cooking and struggled to grab a couple pieces with his fingers to put quickly on his plate, trying not to burn his fingers. He finally decided to use his knife in an effort to keep his skin from blistering. He pulled out a few pieces for Dave and they sat down almost emotionless by the fire that warmed their cold fingers. John was freezing from washing off in the river.

He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and he enjoyed the waves of heat the fire directed his way. His undershorts were still wet but they were drying quickly as he ate his dinner. They didn't talk. There was nothing to say. Dave felt guilty for pulling John into such a situation. John felt guilty for not being able to provide better for Dave. They both knew they were being ridiculous.

That was as far as day one went. They found a spring and they found food. It was good enough. They had nothing else to do but sit around and talk. John was hesitant to speak up, "So... "

Dave looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"  
"Was dinner horrible?"  
Dave seemed shocked at the question, "No, John, it was awesome. I'm happy to have even eaten anything. You don't give yourself enough credit. I certainly wasn't the one who thought to hunt. If it was just me I probably would have just sat around feeling sorry for myself."

John seemed a little happier to hear that, "You're welcome. Sorry I'm complaining."  
Dave nodded. They pulled the bed a little closer to the fireplace and sat on the soft mattress, blankets pulled over their shoulders. The sun was starting to go down and the room was starting to get a little darker, more illuminated by yellow flames than by the sun outside.

John and Dave were looking at each other, neither one really sure what for. The yellow flames cast shadows on Dave's face and John liked how it bleached his hair with the light. It was white in some places and black in others from the shadows.

John blinked before changing his stare to Dave's red eyes. The blond stared back and the only sound in the room was the pop of the fire.

Dave could feel his heartbeat changing unnaturally. It beat hard but it beat slow. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling every fiber of his being protesting. He had his arms resting over his knees where they were pulled up to his chest. His face was half hidden and he hoped that if this backfired it would at least come off as being a reassurance.

His brain made one final testament before he breathe out slowly, "I love you."  
John seemed happy at first, taking it just like Dave suspected he would. But a dark shadow crossed his face a second later when he took in the shining in Dave's eyes. He was sitting in a similar position and he let his chin lean down and rest behind his arms, covering his lips which were now pressed tightly together.

"Dave..."  
Dave didn't respond.  
"That's not... That's not what it sounds like is it? You don't mean just like... friends do you..."  
The sentence was posed as a question but spoken as a statement.  
Dave couldn't breathe. He was clenching his teeth to keep from saying anything else.

He had ruined it; his one chance at a friend, his one chance at living here with someone he trusted, his one chance of not being alone. He ruined it. He closed his eyes resolutely. He wouldn't say anything else. He wouldn't cry. He would just pretend he hadn't said anything at all and when he woke up the next morning to see John had gone home, he wouldn't say anything and he wouldn't cry then either.

He listened as John spoke up again, in the smallest voice, the tiniest whisper, "You know... I've always been one of those people who tries to be understanding," Dave tried to shut him out but couldn't help but hang on every word. Yes, he understood why John wouldn't understand this. It was only natural.  
"I try to understand things from everyone's point of view. I like to be an understanding person, it makes making friends easier. It makes being the heir of the village easier.

"I was so sure of all of my decisions before you came here."  
Dave felt his heart breaking as he hid his face. He hated hearing this.  
"But when you came here, everything I had ever known was twisted around in my face and I didn't understand myself anymore. I found myself watching you get happier. You were so happy to find a place where people care about you and I was so glad to be able to be one of those people. And last night, when your brother was there and he wanted to take you away, I did the most selfish thing.

"I hid you so that I could keep you to myself,"  
Dave was beginning to enjoy this speech. He knew where it was going though. John had been so happy to help, he had wanted to keep Dave there so he could have a best friend, and now that Dave had just said the three stupidest words of his life, he regretted everything.  
"Because I love you too."


	10. Chapter 10

Dave's eyes shot open to look straight into John's. He seemed just as hesitant to talk about this, maybe even scared.

Dave couldn't talk though. He couldn't talk because that was the exact opposite of what he'd expected after revealing such foreign and unacceptable feelings.

John had blankets clutched in his fingers and they were turning white because he was probably just as afraid to talk about this as Dave was. Dave wasn't sure what to do now. He had picked his head up and was staring at John with awe. He knew this was the part where they were supposed to kiss but he had never kissed anyone before.

He didn't even know exactly how kissing would feel. He had never expected to know how kissing would feel. John seemed to be aware of this. He knew this was when they were supposed to kiss. He knew Dave hadn't kissed anyone; because he hadn't either.

Dave let his legs drop from in front of him to cross. He leaned forward, watching John's blue eyes the entire time. He just waited. He didn't know exactly how to kiss someone so he figured he would give the reigns to John.

John looked like he couldn't breathe. If he was in any position as Dave was, he probably couldn't. Dave was just a couple inches away from his lips and it was his decision. He wouldn't say no, of course. He had waited far too long for this. He was incredulous when he realized he had only known him for a week. It seemed like it had been a year. He had made his home with Dave. He had noticed his first love with Dave. He had gone through his first sleepover with Dave.

'I had had his first kiss with Dave', he thought as he leaned forward, eyes closing as his lips made contact with Dave's. He had never done this so the only thing he could make himself do was press close and let their lips form to the others.

Dave took in a deep breath and couldn't help letting his instincts take over. He was letting his head tilt and he was letting his mouth open. John couldn't help but feel terrified as he followed suit. He had waited a long time to love someone like this. He lost all of the air he had taken in when he felt his tongue glide against Dave's, pulling back quickly to take in some more air. Dave seemed to be grateful and started breathing more too.

They both avoided the others gaze and tried to calm their overactive hearts. John felt like his whole world h ad just flipped upside down in the most wonderful way. He felt different. He felt like a new person. Maybe a person who had realized what he was missing out on? A person who was experiencing the reciprocated love of the boy across from him? A person who was growing up and living on his own now? Or maybe he was all of those things.

He pulled the blankets closer around him to fight out the cold night air. The fire was going down and he hesitated before breaking eye contact with the blond to stand up and put more wood on the fire from the small pile they had sitting inside now.

He watched the flames devour the new wood, thinking about what had just happened, trying to remember what it was like. But like it had never happened, the brief moment from just a few minutes ago had almost ceased to exist in his mind. He was forgetting already and he wanted to remember. So he sat back on the bed this time closer to Dave, leaning forward and capturing Dave's lips to his surprise.

Dave was happy to oblige and before they both knew it, their tongues were touching again, sending shock through both of them. The blanket around John's shoulders had come loose and he was in Dave's lap. His instincts helped to lead him along. One hand was pulling at Dave's back and one was resting on his jaw.

Dave seemed overwhelmed but he followed along. His fingers were tangling in John's hair and John's weight was too much for him to hold up so he was now pinned against the mattress.

He let out an unplanned gasp as John accidentally shoved into his waistline. John seemed shocked too. He pulled back a bit, gasping. His eyes were shy as they looked up at Dave's. Dave watched back but seemed far to exhilarated to have any fear left in his eyes.

John claimed his mouth again, getting used to this. He was getting a bit more confident too. He seemed a bit enthralled at the new sensations. He had been told about this whole thing by his dad before so part of him, a part very deep down, knew what he was doing, but this wasn't a boy and a girl. This was a boy and a boy and John had no clue how that was supposed to work out. He had never been told because that wasn't normal.

He would have to follow his instincts. They hadn't failed him yet.

His fingers lingered on Dave's stomach though. This was new to him and he wasn't sure he should be rushing into it like this. Dave's cold fingers were on his chest and their mouths connected; and John was tired.

He pulled back, took a deep breath, and sat up, "We shouldn't do this so fast."  
Dave seemed to agree by heaving a pent up sigh of relief.  
John pulled the blanket back over his shoulders again and lay next to Dave, a bit more relaxed than usual. He enjoyed sleeping next to Dave before but now he felt as if all secrets had vanished and he could be who he wanted to be.

And with this in mind he proudly intertwined their fingers and rested his cheek on Dave's chest. Dave seemed relieved too. They had both been pretending for the last week that they were just friends and it felt really nice to have it all out in the open.

~~

John woke the next morning to the feeling of Dave's fingers running through his hair. He kept his eyes closed, cherishing the moment. He like the knowledge that Dave messed with his hair while he was sleeping. It made him feel loved. Their hands were still twisted around each other. John couldn't help but smile and as soon as his lips had curved the fingers in his hair disappeared.

He let the smile drop and hoped maybe he'd continue but he didn't. He finally opened his eyes to take in the blurry image of Dave laying next to him and watching him with calculating red eyes.  
John raised an eyebrow, "I didn't say you could stop."  
Dave raised an eyebrow in return, "Oh really."

His fingers went back to John's hair and John let himself snuggle into Dave to get warm. He hadn't bothered putting on pajamas last night and the cold air had gotten under his skin so that he was now chilled to the bone. After a few more minutes, John forced himself to stretch out and grab the clothes he had put on after his bath yesterday. They had hardly been worn since he had taken them off as soon as they got back. He grabbed a couple towels and their dirty clothes and stacked them all in the empty water basin they had cleaned out yesterday. They walked to the springs, John wrapped up in his towel. He didn't feel like putting his clothes on just to walk there. It was only a ten minute walk anyway.

He tossed his towel over some of the rocks that were stacked up next to tree trunk. He pulled the dirty clothes in the basin over to the spring edge. He decided to wash the clothes last. He, instead, slid down to relax on the rocky bottom of the spring. The rocks were smooth and warm from the water.

He leaned back and closed his eyes. He opened them when he felt warm, wet lips press against his. He smiled, "Hey."  
Dave sat down next to him. John closed his eyes again but reopened them when he felt Dave watching him, "Yeah?"

Dave was biting his lip, "I don't know."  
John knew he was full of crap, "Tell me."  
Dave shrugged, "It isn't something to tell."  
John raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean."

Dave leaned over and pressed his lips to John's again, this time his feelings a little less held back. John leaned forward, hands wrapping around the back of his neck. He was nervous now because they weren't in their cabin, they weren't dressed.

John gasped as Dave pushed back and straddled him. He tried to catch his breath, their bulges were pressed together now and John was getting a feeling he hadn't had for a long time. He had learned to control it and that feeling was lust mixed with want.

He took deep staggering breaths. Dave was pressing into him in the closest way possible and John was having a hard time taking it all in. this was a great feeling. It was kind of new and a little different but it was great.

He wondered if it was out of line to want to have some control. Was it against the rules to do what he wanted to do right now? Because there were a lot of things he wanted to do; a lot of things he'd never done before.

He felt his hands pulling at Dave's back. And groaned as their hard-ons rubbed together. He tentatively ran his fingers along Dave's side until he was grabbing onto his erection and rubbing carefully, not too sure what he was doing.

Dave seemed shocked and gasped, his lips moving to John's neck where he'd be able to breathe better. His own hand went to join John's, fingers wrapping around John's erection and doing the same thing John was doing to him.

They both were a gasping mess of feelings and sensations. Dave braced himself and pulled away, coaxing John to move from the water to the thick, wet grass by the water's edge. He was laying on top of him and their skin was wet with hot spring water.

Dave had his fair share of fear on this whole thing. He wasn't sure what was okay and what wast. He wasn't sure what was expected and what wasn't.

He ground into John's waist and shuddered at the moan he made. That was a wonderful sound. He would enjoy hearing that a lot more. The needy ring to his moaning was enough to keep Dave moving. His hand pulling back and forth and making him want to collapse. His nerves were on overload and he wanted to just lay down while someone else did the work but fuck that.

John was arching his back and his eyes wanted to close but he seemed locked on Dave's. Dave watched him back and suddenly thought of something. His brother wasn't the type to keep things hidden. Dave had a heard a lot about this kind of stuff. He didn't like to give his brother credit for a lot of things but he wouldn't deny this past failure in his brother's fatherhood would definitely be something to thank him for if he ever got the chance.

He broke eye contact with John and felt his cheeks flush from embarrassment, "Hey... are you okay... if I wanna do something?"

John was panting and seemed confused, "What do you mean?"  
Dave shrugged.  
John raised an eyebrow, "Do what you want. You got me this far haven't you?"

John had a point. Dave crawled backwards on his hands and knees and was hesitant to lean down. John seemed floored. His eyes were wide as Dave licked up the length of his shaft. Dave braced himself as he put as much as he could into his mouth and sucked hard. John was curious for no more than a split second because the second after, his back was arching and his hands were tangling desperately in Dave's blond hair.

Dave wasn't use to this but he had to imagine what this would feel like if he was John and he decided that even if he sucked at it, no pun intended, it probably would still feel pretty fuckin great. His eyes widened considerably and he froze when he suddenly had a mouth full of salty liquid that was altogether unfamiliar. He knew what it was. Part of him cringed, even though he didn't really care all that much.

He didn't know what to do now. What was he supposed to do with this. He was glad to see John had his head back and his eyes were still closed and he spit it silently in the grass, trying to pretend that totally didn't happen.

John looked up at him and before Dave could stop him he was being pushed back, "Wha- John..."  
John cut him off, "I don't know how you thought of that but you are not going anywhere until you know what that's like."

Dave's eyebrows were raised and he sat up before John shoved him back down again, "Nope."  
Dave was pushed back again and finally agree to lean back on his elbows while he watch John mentally preparing. He froze at a hot wet warmth enveloping him. He felt like he was being consumed. The rubbing of John's tongue along his hard dick along with the soaking wet feeling of saliva and precum. He kind of feels guilty about letting go inside John's mouth but he decided to consider it even.

His body is almost in shock. He feels kind of embarrassed about moaning so loudly but he knows John did the same thing so who gives a fuck.

He lays there for a minute, trying to soak up the afterglow. He sits up and sees John smiling, "What?"  
John smirks, "That was a pretty loud moan there. You glad I wouldn't let you say no?"  
Dave glares a fake glare in John's direction and they both get back in the spring, laying next to each other against the grassy edge of the small pool. Before washing off and trying to go back to their normal routine of getting dressed. John had to wash the clothes before getting out though so he was in there for another ten minutes, his skin soft and hot when he got out to get dressed.

They walked back to camp to heat up meat for lunch. John had another mission today. He had been planning this for a few days now, unlike their shenanigans this morning. As he finished hanging the pot over the fire, he went to the closet and dug around for a minute before pulling something out. Dave's reaction however, was not like John expected. He hadn't thought Dave was really scared of anything but this seemed to be the case.


	11. Chapter 11

John dropped a stack of books next to the fireplace and plopped down beside Dave, "Here. You have got to read these! They're all really awesome and have a lot of history to how we got them. I have lots of variety in which ones I own too."

Dave stared at the stack of books and swallowed, "I... don't really like reading."  
John frowned, "Oh... Okay."Dave looked up at John cautiously to see the disappointment written all over his face.  
"Well... I could read just one..."  
John smiled, "I know just which one you should read!"

John dug through the big stack and handed Dave an expensive looking hardback with a dark blue cover. Dave took it carefully and flipped through it, looking over the scrawled letters. His eyes flicked from one page to the next before he closed it and set it on his side of the bed, going back to eating. They ate some berries with their lunch and Dave watched the flames flicker silently.

John got up and went outside, coming back in with some more firewood to put on the fire. Dave stood and went to sit on his side of the bed, moving the book to sit on the floor under the edge of the bed. He would have to make an end table sometime. He missed that luxary.

He was bored. He needed something to do. He had done nothing but work for the last week and he was seriously just completely out of his mind right then. His eyes fell to John who was sitting in front of the fireplace and he stood, going outside to find something to do. He shut the door behind him, turning suddenly to the sound of footsteps by the entrance of Skaia.

He perked up and watched as Jade stepped into the clearing, staring around with her mouth open, "You... You guys restored the place. It looks good. It looks amazing."  
Dave stuttered, "O-oh thanks. Yeah... Um..."  
Jade looked back at Dave, "Oh, I guess I probably shouldn't be here but... I figured out where you guys would be staying. Makes sense. Just thought I would stop by to see how you guys are getting along. Everything alright?"

Dave nodded, "Yeah, everything is fine. Wanna come in?" He gestured behind himself at the house and Jade smiled, "Yeah."  
She walked forward along the old stone path and followed Dave inside. John was still sitting by the fireplace, watching the flames with boredom. He looked up at the dual pair of footsteps and smiled at Jade, "Jade! I didn't think you'd come."

Jade looked around, "You guys, this place looks wonderful!"  
John looked around, "Thanks."  
Jade sat on the edge of the bed closest to the fire, "So... how long do you guys plan on staying out here?"  
John's smile disappeared, "I... I haven't given it much thought but... I didn't really plan on going back."  
Jade frowned, "You aren't?"  
John shook his head, "At least not for a year or so. I think it's good for us to learn how to take care of ourselves. We're doing okay out here. You can still come over."  
Jade perked up, "Good point. What about Jake? Can I tell him where you are? He's worried sick about you. I don't think he's figured it out yet."  
"Well... as long as it's established that this is our house now. I don't want it to be thought of as a fort anymore, because it's actually the only place we have to go. And we're making it a home."

Jade nodded, "I think Jake can deal with it. I doubt he'd really mind much anyway. If you hadn't reclaimed it, he probably wouldn't have ever given the place a second thought. Anyway, I brought you guys some stuff."  
Jade held out a basket to John who took it eagerly. He pulled the cloth from the top to see a basket full of muffins, "Oh Jade, thank you. Food is hard to come by in the woods. I had to go hunting."  
John winced and Jade frowned, "Yeah, that must suck."  
John took the basket and set It by the fireplace, hugging his sister longingly, "I wish we could go home. Did you hear about what happened?"  
"Hear about it? He went to our half of the village first, ya know."  
John raised an eyebrow, "Really? I didn't know."  
Jade nodded.

"Anyway, I should probably be going. The only one who knows I'm even gone is Jake. And I didn't tell him where I was going. He probably thinks I'm at the springs."  
John nodded and hugged his sister goodbye, Dave soon to follow suit. They both waved as Jade let herself out and disappeared into the trees.

Dave went over to the basket to grab a muffin but John pulled him back by the arm, "Wait until after dinner. We should try to spread them out instead of eating them all at once."  
Dave sighed, "Fine. I'm bored."  
John shrugged, "Go read the book I gave you."Dave frowned and looked around, "I... I'm not in the mood to read. I need something to do."  
John shrugged, "Well... it's been over an hour since we were at the springs."  
Dave smiled, "You're kidding."  
John shrugged and pressed his lips to Dave's, pulling back for a second, "Not at all."

Dave shrugged, "You're in charge."  
John pressed their bodies together and their lips followed suit.  
Dave was soon pulling John back onto the bed and hoping to god no one else decided to visit them without knocking.

~~

Dave ran a hand over his forehead, wiping away the light sweat. His other arm was wrapped around John's waist, pulling him close to his body. His nose was nestled in John's hair when there was a knock on the door. Dave and John both sat up in a split second, Dave running his fingers through his hair and going to grab the glass of milk he had gotten a little while earlier, trying to look casual. There was a towel laying on their bed still and Dave was quick to wad it up and shove it under the bed.

John was mussing his own hair up and walking to the door while also wiping his lips off because god knows the evidence of their advances was written all over them. He opened the door an inch and looked outside. He visibly froze and Dave watched him carefully from the other side of the room where he was putting on a new shirt in the closet doorway.

"Yes?"  
"Is there anyone else living here?"  
John looked down at the shining blade that the blond man had resting with the hilt against his hip, "There isn't. Just me. I live alone out here."

The blond man was about to barge in when John shut the door and locked it. Dave wasted no time jumping into the closet and shutting the door. John still wasn't wearing a shirt and hoped he wouldn't have to answer the door like that again, especially not to Dave's older brother.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a face at the window. He opened the door roughly, "Get off my property before I get out my gun!"  
The man creased his forehead, "What the fuck is a gun?"  
John squinted, "It's a rich man's weapon. And it isn't something you want to come near. Now get out of here before things get violent. I didn't move out in the midle of the woods to be bothered by people, if you can't tell."  
The blond raised an eyebrow and turned around to leave through the back of the woods. John sighed and shut the door, locking it. He made a vow to cover the windows.

Bro had found them and if he was smart at all he wouldn't stop without searching around a little. John didn't like where this was going. He opened the closet door but before Dave could come out, he grabbed the material scraps from the mattress and the scissors before shutting the door. He draped the long cloth over the bar above the window. He wished he could make some proper drapes but he did _not_ want to sew anything else.

~~

Days passed without incident. They were fairly boring except for the occasional suspicion of small noises in the woods. John didn't like the feeling of being watched but at least Bro couldn't see inside. Dave handed John the book he was lent and nodded. John raised an eyebrow, "What do you think?"  
Dave smiled, "Pretty good. There were some parts I thought could use work but it was okay."  
John's heart sunk, "Oh... Okay."  
Dave didn't like that look John was making, "What? It's just a book."

John stood up, "Just a book? That took a long fucking time! I worked hard on it!"  
Dave was taken aback, "... You... You wrote this?"  
John gave him a 'no really' look, "Duh. It had my name on the first page! Did you just skip the first page?"

Dave shrunk, "I... Kind of..."  
John creased his forehead and shook his head, "Why?"  
"I... don't know."  
Dave was backed into a corner.  
"Well... what about the parts that were good? Did you even think any of it was good?"  
"Yeah it was a good book I just said that."  
"Well did you think the plot was boring or something?"

Dave had no idea what John was talking about, "The what?"  
"The plot. You know, the whole idea the story portrayed?"  
Dave's eyes were wide, "No, the plot was good. I keep telling you I liked it."  
"Then what part bout it needed work?"  
"None of it."  
"You just said it needed work."  
"No I didn't..."  
"Dave! YES YOU DID!"  
Dave gulped, "I don't know if it needs work don't take writing advice from me."  
"You read it fairly fast, even if you aren't a writer you must know something about what a good book is all about if you read that much. At least tell me your favorite part."  
Dave shrugged, "The part where things turned for the better was really exciting..."  
"Turned for the better?"  
"Yeah, you know, things were going downhill and then a bunch of good stuff happened..."  
"No. No it didn't. There was no bad stuff that happened until the end and then nothing good happened after that. You didn't even fucking read the book, did you?"

Dave swallowed again and took a breath, looking at the floor, "No."  
John threw his hands up, "You know if you didn't want to read it I could have tried to understand but you lied to me about it. That was a horrible lie by the way. Why would you lie to me?"  
Dave went to sit on the bed, leaning against the end and leaning his face into his arms.  
"Why, Dave? I deserve an explanation."  
"Because I can't fucking read, okay?!"  
Dave went back to hiding in his arms and John's arms unfolded to hang at his sides.

He felt stupid now. He shouldn't have just assumed something so stupid. He sat down across from Dave and crossed his legs, leaning forward, "Dave... I'm sorry I got so frustrated."  
"No, you should be. I shouldn't have lied. I'm just stupid, that's all."  
"Dave! You are not stupid!"  
Dave shrugged, "I can't even read. Everyone can read. Who else can't read?"  
"Jade."  
"..." Dave looked up at John to calculate whether he was being serious or not. He seemed devoid of any payback lies and seemed sincere. Dave took a deep breath, "Why can you read if Jade can't?"  
"Because Jade is dyslexic and gave up."  
"She's what?"  
"Dyslexic. It means it's hard for her to do things like reading."  
"Oh."

"You aren't stupid. Although I am curious why you don't know how..."  
"Because my brother said reading was overrated and hiring a tutor is expensive. And if you didn't notice, my village is poor."  
"Why would you hire a tutor? My dad is the one who taught me how to read. I didn't need a tutor."  
"Bro doesn't know how to read either."  
"Oh... Well I do..."  
"Yeah I noticed. You don't have to retell me."

John laughed, "I wasn't bragging."  
"Oh yeah? What else do you call that?"  
"Offering."  
"Offering what? To teach me? Haha."  
"I'm not laughing."  
"Why not? It's funny."  
"No it isn't. I want to teach you how to read."  
"Why?"  
"Because I can tell you want to."  
"No I don't. It's a waste of time."  
"You don't believe that."  
"I do too."  
"No you don't. I can see it in your eyes."  
"No one can see anything in my eyes."  
"I can see things in your eyes."  
"My eyes are stupid."  
"No they aren't they're beautiful."  
"You did not just call me beautiful."  
"I called your eyes beautiful."  
"Same thing."

John huffed, "Can't you ever just agree with someone?"  
"Absolutely... not."  
"Pff."  
John stood up and went to the closet to get a book. He sat down on the edge of the bed and opened it up to a blank page. He took out a pencil and wrote down some letters, "We'll start with your name."


	12. Chapter 12

Dave was picking up on his name pretty quickly. He liked the way it looked and he was grateful it was only four letters long. Writing it was easy enough but he had a feeling he'd forget how to write it if he didn't keep doing it all the time.

"I have a plan."  
"What?"  
John opened to the back of the book they were writing in and wrote something unintelligible on the top of the page, "Every night before you go to bed, you'll write your name and whatever you've learned. For the next few days we can focus on names. So tomorrow I'll teach you my name and before you go to bed you'll write both of them. The next day I'll show you Jade, and you'll write all three of them and so on."  
"What happens when I get to day thirty and I have all the names you can think of. I'll forget them eventually won't I?"  
"No. After the people we talk about most, I'll start teaching you the full alphabet and we'll start writing sentences. You already know how words sound so we'll see if you can put the letters to the sounds. If you can do that, writing sentences should be easy. Since you already know English well enough, it's really all a matter of putting it on paper."

Dave was a bit overwhelmed so far but he continued writing his name. He wanted to know how to write John's name too though. He didn't want to wait until tomorrow so he made a point to ask him. John took the pencil back and wrote down four more letters. They were unfamiliar though. The two names didn't have any of the same letters.

Dave wrote the letters down and asked why there were four letters when there were only three sounds. John looked down at the notebook and thought it over, "You know, I never really understood why some words are like that. Some letters are silent but you need them there to read things right but John would be read just the same without the 'h'."

Of course Dave didn't know which letter was the 'h'. He wrote down each name a few more times before turning to a blank page. He didn't know how to write but there was one symbol he was familiar with. He had seen it used on a building in his old village. He once asked bro what the building was for but he refused to give him an answer. He was little at the time so he was unfamiliar and asked what the symbol was. It was a heart. A symbol of love. So he decided with both of their names in his head he had no better use for them at the moment than to write them down on either side of a heart.

John looked over just before he closed the book and smiled. Dave asked when he would be taught the rest of the alphabet. John decided he could show him a little more today. He was eager to learn and he couldn't really soak much of it up if he didn't have the alphabet to base it all from.

John wrote out all 26 letters carefully and then gave an example word for each one while also saying its name and sound. He decided to start with 'D'.  
"Well, since it's the first letter in your name, let's start with 'D'. Dave nodded. "'D' makes a duh sound like in Dave, obviously, the full sound it makes really depends on the vowel next to it though. A Vowel is what makes each full sound." John proceeded to list off each vowel and all the sounds it could make. Dave was a bit overwhelmed but he tried not to show it because he knew as much information as he was receiving he was actually keeping up pretty well.

"Dave starts with 'D' and the vowel next to it is an 'a'."  
"How do I know what sound the 'a' is making if it's a word I haven't seen?"  
"Well, if it's a word you use every day when you're talking, you could probably figure it out on your own once you learn the other consonants. Consonants are all the letters that aren't vowels. There are five vowels and twenty-one consonants. So twenty-six letters in the alphabet."  
"That's a lot of letters."  
"It's not as hard to learn as it sounds."

John decided to finish Dave's name before going to any other letters, "So the next letter is 'v'. It makes a vuh sound. All three of those letters could make up your name since you already know what sound the vowel makes. But if someone were to see your name and they had never seen it before, how do they know it isn't pronounced Dav?"  
John pronounced a short 'a' sound and Dave winced, "I don't know but I would appreciate some way for them to know that's not right."  
"That's what the 'e' is for. It doesn't make any sounds but it tells you how the 'a' sounds. It's a long 'a' so it's pronounced 'ay'."

Dave soaked all this in and tried to remember all of what John said. He was getting used to the letters and logistics in his name. It seemed funny how a word that seemed so simple when he first started writing it for himself was so full of rules and facts. He wrote it down now with a whole new understanding of it.

John sighed heavily and went on and on. Dave seemed intent on getting all of this. John pointed to each letter he had written down and wrote a word next to it. The letters were in a list so there was room next to them for pictures and words. It took about four pages to fit them all in with lots of room for this stuff. John made simple pictures so Dave could learn the letters o his own without John around to tell him what it sounded like if he forgot.

Dave was at it for hours. He seemed to have improved a lot. They had woken up early that morning and when Dave once was to a point of embarrassment that he felt the need to lie about reading something, he was now grasping English writing like a second way of breathing and his speed for learning it was almost disgusting to John. He had taken almost a week just to learn all the vowels. He had to remind himself that he was a lot younger when he had learned but there was still some jealousy towards Dave for learning so quickly.

The book was stashed under Dave's pillow and he felt his stomach growl. He looked up at John and John went to the stash of meat they had made from the deer. There was only two small pieces left. They were put in the pot on the fire to warm up and they ate silently. John needed to go hunting again.

He stood. It was still only noon so he stood wordlessly to leave. Dave got up and grabbed his arm though, "You should wait until tomorrow."  
"Why? So we have to miss breakfast? I'm going tonight, I won't be gone long."  
Dave sighed and buried his forehead in John's back, "Be careful." He was hesitant to add anything else to the end of his demand but John turned around and kissed him before leaving.

He got on Casey's back and slid the bow around his back. They left silently and Dave shut the door to go sit down on the bed and wonder what to do. He decided to get the book John had written and see if he could recognize any of the letters in his writing. He didn't know how to read almost at all yet but he wasn't dumb enough to think all writing looked the same. John seemed to be writing the letters in the cleanest form he could when showing Dave but the letters in the book looked vastly different when he had skimmed through it.

He pulled open the cover and ran a finger through the first sentence. He was looking for the first letter in his name. He liked that one. It was easy to remember. Just a straight line and a curve on the front of it. He found a few but the way they were written was kind of loopy and slanted. He looked to the letter next to it to see it was also one from his name. And the next too. He creased his forehead. They were all here but the 'v' and then there were two on the end that didn't seem to go together. John said that more often than not, two consonants didn't sit together unless they were a set.

Dave stared at the two until he remembered them as 't' and 'h'. he went back to the first three letters. What was he supposed to think when he saw two vowels together? They kind of contradict each other. Why not just have one of them?

Dave put them all together. The 'a' didn't seem to belong and he couldn't remember what the 't' and 'h' would sound like. So he tried his best to put them together how he thought they would sound, "Det-h?"  
He felt stupid as he said it out loud to himself but no one was around to hear. He tried again with a long 'e'.  
"Det-h? What is this crap?" He opened his book and flipped through it until he found the pages John had made the list on. He searched for 't' and saw a spot next to the 't' picture where a 'th' was circled and then a picture of someone throwing a rock, "t-h-r-o-w... r.. row. Throw. That has to be 'throw'. So it's thuh."  
Dave looked back at John's book and reread it, "Deth. It says 'Deth'. The 'a' must be silent or something. So it says 'Death'. Hm."

Dave was spent. He shut both books and put them on the floor by his side of the bed. He was hungry and John wouldn't be back at least for an hour or two at the minimum. He decided to help by restarting the fire. It was down to its last coals and needed some more wood on it. He stood and opened the door, stepping around the side of the house. He gathered as much wood as he could in his arms and went back inside. He stopped at the doorway and let the branches slip from his arms. Bro was sitting on his bed, red eyes eating into him.

"You left."  
It was a statement that cut into him.  
"You lied."  
A little deeper.  
"You stole."  
His heart stopped.  
"You ran like a coward."  
His blood boiled.

Dave threw what was left of the wood in his arms on the floor and stepped over it to lean into his brother. He didn't seem to want a fight. He sat calmly as Dave's finger met his nose, "Don't you dare, call me a coward. YOU Are the coward! YOU hid in a house my entire life and drank away your problems. YOU lied to me about what you did in your spare time. YOU left me alone at night to fend for myself while YOU went out to have mindless sex with people you would never see in the light of day. YOU never touched me unless you wanted to let off some steam. YOU never told me you cared about me. YOU never told me I was worth anything. YOU decided when I could go somewhere and who I could see. YOU never paid attention to anything I did. So you know what? Now it's time for ME to make my decisions. It's time for ME to go where I want. And It's time for ME to start my life over and be a better person than YOU ever were and ever will be."

Dave dropped his hand and clenched his teeth as he leaned back. Bro kept his mouth in a straight line but his eyes were wide and his face was shocked. To be quite honest, Dave had never had the nerve to speak more than a hello or goodbye to his brother. Bro probably didn't even know Dave knew how to yell. Truth was, Dave didn't learn how to talk by talking to Bro, he learned by listening. He doubted if Bro even cared if he ever learned to talk, as long as he knew how to understand when he was being told what chores he was to do by the time Bro got home from a 'friend's' house.

Dave waited for a response but all he could see was a shocked man sitting on the bed he had no part in providing and all he could think was that he wanted him out of his and John's house before it was corrupted by his irresponsible demeanor. He stared back, however, and couldn't help but wish his brother had been better at taking care of him, not because he deserved a a better life, but so he could look at him now with something other than anger.

Bro finally let the straight line that was his mouth break into a small 'o' and his eyes went to the floor before he stood up and reattached the sword that lay with the tip on the floor and the hilt on the bed to his side. He slid it into the sheath that was attached around his waist and he turned toward the door. Dave was part happy to see him leaving but he didn't like how things were ending. Part of him wanted answers, but part of him wanted to talk. Part of him wanted to finally feel free to speak up and tell his Bro all that had happened in his life. He wasn't the quiet boy who hid behind a tree to keep from being seen. He wasn't even the boy who looked around the chief's house in aw. He was completely new. He was a whole new being since he had really gotten to know John. John had changed him and part of him wanted to tell his brother. Maybe to rub it in that he was so much better off without him than with him. He couldn't really say he was better off on his own though because he wouldn't be where he was if John hadn't entered the picture.

But even as he thought these things, Bro was stepping over a pile of branches. He sighed. He hadn't intended anything by it but Bro paused for a fraction of a second before continuing out the door. He called him back inside, "Come back in here."  
Bro stopped to turn and look at him. His eyes narrowed a bit, wondering why he was being asked to come back. Dave pointed at the floor, and Bro, seeing no other reason for the gesture, sat down where commanded.

Dave picked up the branches silently and rebuilt the fire that had gone out sometime during their dispute. Bro hadn't said a word to him since he arrived. Dave pulled the flint from on top of the mantel and made a flame that caught onto all the small branches around it. He replaced the flint and sat on the edge of the fireplace, staring at his brother.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"  
It was a question but the tone of his voice was flat and monotone. Bro stared back for another few seconds before answering, "I thought you were the one who was saying things from now on."  
Dave wanted to grab him by the shirt and get aggressive but he was the better person and he was going to prove it. Even if being around his brother and staying calm was hard, he could do it when he remembered John. His life had started over and even if he felt more powerful with his confidence restored, he had no place in taking it out on someone who was no longer a permanent part of his life.

"Don't get sarcastic with me in my own house. Tell me why you've been searching for me."  
Bro was silent. He seemed to want to say something but no sound passed his lips.  
"You aren't going to answer me?"

"Fine, I guess I give you too much credit, you can be on your wa-"  
"Because I care about you."  
"Don't lie to me." The aggression in his voice was starting to show through. He was so tempted to punch him, just once. Just once; he would stop after just one... No he wouldn't. He knew he wouldn't stop. That's why his hands were sitting on the edge of the fireplace as close to the burning flames as he could stand. He wanted a distraction because he knew if he lost it, he lost it.

"I care about you now and I cared about you then. It's been almost a month since you left and I changed. I'm not the same person. I didn't know how much I cared until you were gone and all of the thoughts like 'what if he freezes?' or 'what if he steals something and the owner finds him and puts him in jail?' started running through my head. I always thought you were in the way, which I'm sure you knew, but when you were gone, things weren't the same. So I left and came to find you. I guess I never really felt like you'd grown up so I never really felt the need to let you make any of your own choices or do what you want. I'm sorry I treated you like shit. I'm sorry I made your childhood a nightmare. I'm sorry I was a selfish loser who only thought of himself. But I'm here now as a new person and I want to know that you don't hate me."

Dave let the words flowing from his sibling wrap around his mind, "I can't tell you whether I hate you or not because I truly don't know."  
Bro closed his mouth and didn't respond. He was looking at the floor now. Dave pulled the curtains from the window to see that the sun was getting lower now. He had no need for the curtains from this point on. He put them in the closet. It was probably two o' clock. John still wasn't back yet.

"Let's talk. Let's pretend I don't know you. Let's pretend I've never met you in my life, you never did anything to wrong me, and you've never met me in your life either. Shouldn't be too hard for you I imagine, since you really haven't."  
Dave sat across from Bro, on the edge of the fireplace, and waited to see where the conversation would start.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hi. My name is Dirk. What's yours?"  
Dave almost wanted to laugh when he thought of Bro as Dirk. He was his brother but he acted as his father. It was weird treating him like an equal but he liked the idea of being able to act on his own and know that he couldn't be told what to do. And as the thought of not knowing who this man was began to enter his mind, he felt himself losing the anger he had harbored just moments ago. He couldn't be mad at a man he'd never really met, right?  
"Dave."  
Dirk held out a gloved hand. Dave shook it warily.  
"So, Dave, tell me who you are. Tell me what's happened in the last month of your life."  
Dave had never known his brother to care about him but he sounded sincere as he asked. Maybe wasting the last month looking for him had made him interested in what he was looking for. Or maybe he'd always cared but never had the guts to show it.  
"Let me tell you about this month. I left home. It was a stupid place. The village wasn't a place to grow up. I spent my life there doing nothing. I learned all the wrong things. Then I left. I decided I wanted to see what the world was really like, what it was like for normal people. I walked for days. I eventually ran out of food and started to feel hungry on about the fourth or fifth day of walking. I wasn't looking for any particular place but on the sixth day I found a river to stop at. I had a pot I'd taken from home. I'd purposely taken the oldest one because I didn't want my brother to come back for me with a vengeance for stealing anything we had that poor people might consider valuable.

"I stopped to fill it by a river but when I stopped, I heard someone walking through the woods. So naturally, I stopped what I was doing. I was scared to talk to anyone though because I generally spent most of my time at home hiding in my room. So I hid behind a tree and watched him. He turned around and heard me and found me. We started talking, me acting like a complete idiot. It came down to an invitation to come eat with his family but I didn't know how to accept kindness. So I said no and instead I followed him and watched them. This guy was smarter than I was though and he knew I would follow him. So he brought me some food where I was hiding and scared the crap out of me.

"I went and ate with him in his house. I hadn't known when I met him that I was talking to the heir of the village; the chief's son. I went to his house and we talked. He showed me nothing but kindness and I slowly started to open up to him. I met his family and his siblings and learned about his life. He showed me where he and his sister and cousins used to play in the woods when they were about twelve. We spent hard time and money to break our backs to fix it. It was a place of our own. I learned about the death of his cousin and I learned about how his sister and cousin hadn't gone to that special place since then.

"We had a sleepover with those two one night and told stories about things that had happened in our lives, twisting the events into tales that I could listen to a thousand times over. And then there was a night when John's dad, the chief, one of the huntsmen, told stories. That's right, I got to listen to a storyteller. It was in front of a fire and we listened to music played on instruments no one in the entire village I lived in could ever afford. We ate desserts the women of the village had made with care in their hearts, because people there actually cared about one and other."

Dirk listened carefully, eyes attentive and breath deep as he imagined his little brother, the one he had belittled and underestimated so long, going through all of these wonderful things; all of the wonderful things he never would have experienced when he had been holding him back.

"The chief's son and I went to bed that night with a sense of joy. And then," Dave laughed mockingly, "then. Then I woke up to my best friend's hand over my mouth to keep me quiet. I knew what was happening. I jumped up to help him pack because the same man I had left two weeks earlier was there to take me, and I have no doubt whether you approached calmly here or not, you would have taken me, and we left. We took his cow and we left for the one place we knew of that no one would come looking."

Dave held out his hand, "Give me your sword."  
Dirk had a slight air of distrust but he pulled the sword out and handed it to his brother. Dave went and put it in the closet and pulled out the extra pillow and blanket that they had stored in there. He laid them on the floor, "You can stay here tonight."

He sat back down at the fireplace, "I'm not done though."  
Dirk sat on the soft blanket and leaned his back against the side of Dave and John's bed. He waited for more.

"So we went into hiding. My best friend was forced to go hunting for us to survive because we knew we couldn't stay in the village. He didn't like hunting. Killing wasn't a thing he did. So he killed a deer for us to eat and cried while he skinned it. That's how much he cared about me. Cares about me. I had never had a best friend until then. Not until two weeks ago. I grew up fast while I lived with him in his village but once we moved into hiding and lived on our own, I grew up even more."

"Oh man, you are going to absolutely _LOVE_ this part," Dave said sarcastically. "That night, we were talking, and I don't really remember exactly how it happened, but we, wait for it, we confessed our love. Yep. Drink it in Dirk, I'm a freak."

Dave sat back from when he'd leaned in dramatically. Dirk's eyes were wide and he stared at Dave. Dave stared back, a twisted grin appearing on his face. He laughed lightly and pointed a finger at Dirk, "That look on your face is priceless."  
He laughed a bit more but it turned into hysteria and he felt warm tears running down his face, "Yep. Dave the freak. That's me. You can make a sick comment any second now."

Dirk was silent still. His eyes stayed open, staring straight at Dave. Dave was getting angrier by the second though. He was forgetting that he didn't know who this was. This wasn't his guardian, this was a stranger he hadn't met before. All he could think of now was all of the things his guardian would say, when in reality, he had no idea what _Dirk_ would say.

He felt distant as his brother's arms were held out. It was a gesture that looked similar to someone beckoning for a hug but Bro didn't do hugs. So what was this meant to mean?

He creased his forehead but Dirk didn't let up. Dave didn't move so Dirk leaned forward and hugged him of his own accord. Dave scowled, "What?! What are you hugging me for? You never hug me in your life so you hug me now? When I tell you the most off-kilter thing anyone could ever tell anyone else? You make no sense."

"Keep talking, Dave. I haven't told you my story yet. It's not like I'm perfect either. Finish your story."

Dave didn't really want to finish his story when Dirk wouldn't even tell him what he thought of him. He continued anyway, his new goal to force a response out of his brother. He couldn't make him say anything by telling him about a love confession but he was desperate for a reaction, any reaction would do.

"So we made out. That's right, I had my first kiss right here in this room. Then the next day, I had another first. I had sex. I lost my virginity at a spring."

Dirk's eyes widened a bit more but he kept his mouth sealed tight and watched his brother as he told his story.

"We came back here and ate some of the deer he cooked. Then, we did it again. I don't know if you noticed when he answered the door, but he wasn't wearing a shirt. It was on the floor. Right next to mine. And he told you he lived alone because he loves me and doesn't want you taking me back to the shithole he knows I came from.

"So then, to cheer me up, he had a surprise for me. He got some expensive-ass books from the closet and he gave one to me to read. And I couldn't tell him I can't read. I couldn't tell him he'd have to save it for another day because I was never given the option to learn how to read."

Dirk's eyes were still wide but now they harbored guilt as well.

"So then a few days later, we catch up to our current point in time. And let me tell you. Let me tell you his name. Because I never told you his name. I figured I'd save the best for last. His name, is J-o-h-n. Do you know what that spells, Dirk? Can you put those four letters into a single word? Because I can. I know what those four letters spell. It certainly isn't thanks to my brother. I learned from John. John taught me. John taught me. John helped me, John loved me. He loves me now. That's why he's gone right now. He's out in the woods doing something he absolutely hates so we can eat. So we can survive. So we can have you here tonight and feed you food. Granted, he doesn't know you're here and he would probably freak out if he walked in to see you sitting here, but if I tell him it's okay, I'm sure he'll gladly welcome you into our home.

"Because Dirk, I don't know you. You aren't the person who raised me. Because in my mind, the person who _raised_ me is dead and gone. So let's start over. Who are _you_, Dirk?"

Dirk sat up straighter and crossed his legs in front of him, "I don't get to sit on the cool fireplace while I tell my story?"  
Dave raised an eyebrow, "Well, you could, but I think I'd rather stay here myself. Why don't you give me a reason to let you sit in front of the house's only source of warmth?"  
"Well I could promise my story will make you feel better, but I really don't know how you'll react to hearing what's been going on in your villain's mind all this time."  
Dave sighed and stood up to lay on his stomach across his bed. Dirk sat on the fireplace and Dave decided laying on his side would be more comfortable. He rested his cheek in his hand, leaning up on his elbow while Dirk began.

"I grew up in the same house and neighborhood my brother did. I never had parents or a guardian. I raised myself. Sure, my parents were around, but they had hardly talked to me and they didn't stick around long enough than to drop my little brother off and be on their way. They lived in a completely different house, probably one of the more pricey ones in the village, while me and him lived in the rundown hut that tried to pass itself off as something more than what it was. It was a two-room house with dirty windows, one of which was broken, and a door with no lock. We didn't have any valuable possessions.

"The way I saw my little brother was as a nuisance, to be honest. If you were a ten-year-old with a newborn to take care of on your own, you would probably think the same thing. Maybe if I had been raised properly, or even just raised with parents that cared about me, poor or not, I might have had a little more love for him. Instead, I thought of him as just one more mouth to feed. I had never learned to love; myself included. I was a messed up kid. Up until my brother was born and dropped off on my doorstep, I was alone. I sat in our house all day, drawing with whatever pencils I could steal in whatever books I could steal. If there were no books to steal, I drew on the disgusting walls.

"I would often get into fights with kids around the neighborhood. They were usually over food one or the other had tried to steal but often were just because of some jeer one had thrown in the others way. I grew to hate myself and my brother alike, because when you're never taught to love, it's so much easier to hate. So as I grew older, I started looking for the love I had never known. I don't think it was really a conscious effort. I just wanted something or someone to love. I started with talking to the girls around town. I said 'hi', I tried being polite, I thought about asking one or two to dinner but the scenarios that presented themselves were pathetic. All I could see was me digging around in the chest in the kitchen, trying to find something worth presenting someone I hoped to fall in love with, but I knew that would never happen. I couldn't risk the embarrassment.

"One day, and Dave, you'll absolutely _love_ this part," He said it in a slightly mocking manner but there was nothing sarcastic about it, "I looked around, and I had an epiphany. I realized something. I realized something that I never thought I would realize, something that I don't think I even wanted to realize. I didn't have any interest in women. Sure, I liked them, but I didn't _like_ them. I liked men. And that moment, that moment when that thought even flashed across my mind, I set myself up to change. I decided I wouldn't be like that. That's messed up, I'm a freak. So... Even though I had a nine-year-old at home to feed, I spent every last penny I managed to steal and I went to the one place in town I thought might be able to change me. I went to the stripper club. Because it's the poor villages that have them. I don't think I've ever heard of a well-put-together village that has a stripper club.

"I went inside, and I tried to make myself enjoy it. I had sex with women. I tried to have relationships with women, I tried to make myself like them. I just couldn't get into it."

Dave watched his brother with eyes as wide as Dirk's must have been when he had told his own story. He never would have known.

"So, when I finally realized it was impossible, I went to the next place that called my name. I went to the pub. I got as many beers as I could and I drank like a sailor. I came home and collapsed. My poor brother. He had no idea that when he came out to see if I was home, to say hello, that he would get a fist to the face. And let me tell you, Dave, I've done a lot of thinking in the past few weeks to be able to figure all of this out in my head. I've faced a lot of things about myself these past few weeks that I've never wanted to face before.

"I hit him. I hit my little brother. When I was drunk, he reminded me of myself, and I wanted to put him through as much pain as I could possibly muster the energy to inflict. I wanted to hurt myself because I hated myself and when the opportunity arose, and a blond kid who looked just like I did when I was nine years old walked into the room, the first thing I thought of was how much I hated myself and when I looked at him, I wanted to hurt him. So I did. And I'm not making excuses. Believe me, I'm not making excuses. My little brother has every right to hate me for who I am, not as someone who likes men, but as someone who gave him the wrong treatment.

"He didn't ask my parents to drop him off on my doorstep and make my life ten times as hard. He was only an innocent child who I treated like a criminal. He was in the same boat as I was and he only wanted someone to love him and I didn't even know how."

Dave felt his eyes starting to tear up. His entire story was true. It made sense. He was in the same boat as he was and he only wanted someone to care about him and everything made sense when Dirk told his story.

"So, I felt guilt when I woke up the next day and I decided the best way to avoid dealing with my actions was to ignore him. So I did. I didn't look at him, I didn't talk to him, I didn't acknowledge when he talked to me. I ignored him. I don't think I ever told him but I did notice when he did admirable things. I could tell that he wanted so hard to impress me with the way he was growing up. I was twenty-two, he was twelve. He got himself a cow. He went and found a cow in the woods and killed it and brought it home for us to eat. But I didn't even look at it. Not when he was around anyway. Part of that was because I thought that if he got it he should eat it himself, and part of it was because I didn't deserve something he had worked for. He had worked harder than I'd ever worked to get food.

"Sure, I had stolen things to put on the table but stealing and honest-to-god hard work are two different things, and I hated myself a little more every time he did something good. He would see the drawings I made when I was younger and he decided to do something of his own. He drew me something with one of my old pencils on a piece of paper he found somewhere and gave it to me. I took that paper, and I saw how much better at drawing he was than me, and through my resentment, I took that paper," a few tears spilled over onto Dirk's cheeks, something more than Dave had ever seen his brother do in his life, "And I tore it to pieces. And I left them on the floor in front of him, and I left. I left for the pub and I drank like I'd never drank before."

It was here that Dave got up with every nerve he could find in his body, and hugged his brother. They both had tears staining their faces and they both felt out of place, but who cares, because they were just now meeting. Dirk hugged back before pushing him away lightly to go sit back down on his bed while he finished his story.

"So from that day on, I didn't feel like my brother was trying to impress me, some disgusting, inhuman part of me thought maybe he was purposely trying to ruin my life and make me hate myself but there was a tiny part of me that said he was only searching for the same thing I was. I smothered that part in the hatred I had grown accustomed to. Years went on with him trying to make himself look worthy of love but I kept pushing him away. I always thought he hated me. He might have. I don't know."

Even through the tears, Dirk's voice remained even.

"So when he got older, probably when he had just turned sixteen, he visibly gave up. He no longer cared what I had to say about him. He seemed to only care about himself. I had given up on any kind of love and made drinking my only hobby. We had started a pattern. I went out and got whatever food I could and brought it back, ate my share on the way home and left whatever was left on the kitchen counter. He would come eat it while I was gone at the bar, he would disappear in his room by the time I got home and I would lay on the couch until I fell asleep. Whenever he tried to leave the house I would accuse him of something and make him stay home. I was afraid he would make the same mistakes I did. So I wouldn't let him into the same situation as I was when I made said mistakes.

"Then, about a month ago, I noticed he stopped eating the food I left on the counter. He wasn't in his room. I only saw him in the morning and he would disappear in the afternoon. He came back one night and I was so drunk, I didn't even know I was hitting him. I didn't even know. I didn't know until I woke up the next morning to see him sitting in the corner with his head in his arms and purple marks all over them. I didn't even know what to think. I couldn't even remember anything about the night before.

"I stood up and left the house, but instead of going out drinking, which when he woke up he probably thought I was, I went out in the big field on the other side of town. I just sat there. I laid there, and I looked at the sky, and I hated myself. I hated myself and I hated my parents. I hated god and I hated the world. And then I went back at night, hoping subconsciously that maybe it would surprise him that I was sober, but when I came home, he wasn't there. I figured he was out doing whatever he usually did and he'd be back in the morning. I woke up and he wasn't home. This went on for a few days. Let me tell you though, my brother is pretty elusive. I figured he was just going out his window or something. But when I hadn't heard from him on the fourth day, he hadn't taken any of the food I left on the counter, the mess in his room had remained untouched, I knew he was gone."

Dave was eager to hear about what had happened in the past three weeks. He listened quietly, legs crossed in front of him and elbows pressing into his knees.

"I was standing in his doorway when it hit me. It had been a few days but it hit me. It hit me that it was when _I_ hit _him_. He had left when he had woken up. He had woken up and seen all the shit I'd put him through and he was probably thinking "Screw this." when he left.

"I followed where I thought he might have gone. I had heard of some villages South of ours and North-East of ours. I went South first. It was a long way but I figured if he was there it would be worth the walk. Or run. I walked into that village, sure he would be there, but he wasn't, and I walked out of it, sure he would never turn up. I had gone the wrong direction and surely he would keep walking. Why would you stop if you knew someone would come after you? You wouldn't. So I followed him. To the North village and made a huge scene, frustrated that I couldn't find him. I was probably being over-the-top but I didn't really care. I had spent the last two weeks looking for him and thinking over everything I've said so far. I hadn't realized how much I enjoyed having you in my life until you disappeared from it.

"And then when I went into that house, the chief talked to me and told me you hadn't been here. I was so sure you had though, even if you hadn't stayed, you would had to have stopped somewhere, and that's how I knew he was lying. I knew he was lying because even if you weren't there then, you would had to have stopped there and he would have no reason to tell me you hadn't been there if you had only stopped by. He would have just told me the truth if you weren't there at the moment I had come knocking. So I kept looking around. And that's when I saw two figures running into the woods.

"I lost sight of you though and didn't know which way you'd gone. So I searched an entire mile round the entire village and lucky me, when I went for the second mile around, I started in just the right place and I found this cabin. Your friend might have been convincing if I hadn't seen both of you when you ran to the woods. I stuck around and watched. And then there's now. We caught up."

Dave sniffed and sighed. He lay back against John's pillow and looked at his brother. He felt the entire inside of his head trying to wrap around this story. He felt like he really was meeting a completely new person. And setting aside the entire story so far, he could really only think about the fact that his brother also liked men. They were both freaks. It must run in their blood or something. He couldn't help but be relieved about it. He heard the door open and the sound of someone freezing in place, "Welcome back, John."

Dave could almost slap his brother. He was going to scare the crap out of John. He sat up, "You get anything? I think we'll be having company tonight."


	14. Chapter 14

John stepped inside warily and shut the door behind him, "Um... What?"  
Dave stood and yanked Dirk up by the arm, "Here. Meet Dirk."  
John's eyebrows were raised and then some. His wide eyes went up to meet the red irises of their company.

"So um, just in case I'm waking up from some really wild dream, what are you doing here?"  
Dirk laughed, "We have things sorted out. Told some stories, explained some things, it's all good."  
John cocked one eyebrow and nodded as if he actually understood that fact that the man who had been chasing his lover for the last three weeks was standing in their house and everyone was best friends now. He nodded and threw his hands in the air as he turned to open the door.

Dave followed him outside and his mouth opened considerably to see a deer lying on the dam in the river and another cow tied to the tree, "What the hell?"  
John nodded, "Yeah, I have a story too. I was out in the woods for a long time for a reason. So I went out really far today, trying to see how far I could get without losing my way. I had some white paint stashed in the back of the supply closet and I marked the trees. Anyway, after a long time, we got to a clearing with a pond and there was a cow out there. Which, its actually a bull but whatever. The bull came over to Casey and started sniffing her and even when I got on her and was about to leave, he followed us. So I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to bring him back anyway. So now we have two cows who like each other and who could possibly breed to start a family of cows."

Dave stared at the bull. His horns were huge and threatening and Dave wasn't so sure about him. He shied away from him and walked over to see the deer. It was a lot bigger than the last one. John smiled at his work, "I'll get this ready to cook and you guys can go inside and boil the water."

Dave nodded and all three went inside, John getting the wooden box from by the fireplace to put the meat in. he grabbed his knife and went outside to go to work.

Dave grabbed the pot and went outside to fill it, coming back in and hanging it over the fireplace. He added some kindling to the fire and lay on his back on their bed. Dirk was still sitting on the blanket on the floor, "So... do you have anything other than meat?"

Dave raised an eyebrow, "Why?"  
"Just curious."  
"No we don't. We have milk to drink but as for food this is it."  
Dave seemed to think Dirk was being picky but he continued, "Well I was thinking, why don't you guys start a garden? Grow some fruit or vegetables or something. You can't live on meat."  
"Grow a garden? Why don't you go grow a fucking garden. Do you think I look like a farmer? I don't know the first thing about farming."  
"Go back to the village and ask someone who knows how to farm."  
"We can't go back to the village."  
"Why? I'm not hunting you down anymore."

This was true.  
"Because if we go back to the village, they'll expect us to stay there."  
"So why don't you?"  
"Because we live here, and we enjoy living here."  
"Oh. Well I don't have an answer then."

Dave told Dirk to watch the pot and got his book from beside the bed. He took the pencil beside it and laid on his stomach on the bed, starting to write his and John's names in it. Dirk glanced back at him a few times but didn't make any comments. Dave decided he should try out his name. He knew it had to start with a 'D' so he started with that.

John came back in with the wooden box. He put what he had cut into the pot and went back outside, his face downcast. Dave swung his legs over the side of the bed and followed him, shutting the door behind him.

Dirk sat on the fireplace and watched out the front window. He couldn't see them very well from here to all the way over by the river but he could see Dave kneeling down next to him. He watched curiously. John was kneeling in the dirt next to the bloody mess that was left of their dinner. Dave had an arm resting on his shoulder. He looked at him. Dirk wished he knew what he was saying but he couldn't hear that far or through the door and walls.

He felt his heart stop as Dave pressed a gentle kiss to John's lips. He felt all of the pain of growing up coming back to him. He felt the loneliness. He wanted to be with someone like his brother was. He wanted to be in love and have someone in love with him. But he came back to earth and realized that would probably never happen and his brother was just too lucky. He sat on the fireplace and glanced back at the boiling water. He would just have to get over it, seeing those two together. They were in love and he couldn't change that. And he wouldn't want to.

He came back to the present s the door to the cabin opened and John came in, shirt soaked in blood and water. He looked over at Dirk curiously, "Should I tell you to close your eyes or can I change my clothes?"

Dirk shrugged, "I can go outside for a few minutes if you want."  
He didn't wait for a response as he stood from the fireplace and walked to the door. John pulled his shirt over his head, trying to keep the blood from getting in his hair. He set the shirt on the floor as and heard the door shut. He found some clean clothes in the closet and pulled them on, thankful to be in his normal clothes.

Dirk walked over to his brother, "What's up?"  
"I'm making dinner, what about it?"  
"I was just curious. You said usually John makes dinner."  
"He does. And it kills him. So I told him to go inside."  
"Did you let the animal bleed out? There's blood everywhere."  
"John slit its throat before putting it on Casey's back so it's bled out as much as it could in the hour it took to get home."  
"That's probably not long enough. You should try and wash as much of the blood from it as you can."  
"Dave gave his brother a look that implied he knew what he was doing."

Dirk nodded and went back inside to see John lying on the side of the bed by the fire. He thought that was Dave's spot but maybe he was wrong. He sat down on the fireplace and looked at him. His dark hair framed his pale face and Dirk decided he liked the combination. Everyone from their village had blond hair in one style or another but it seems like everyone he saw in John's village had dark hair, not styled, just going whichever way it fell after they bathed and staying that way. And yet, even as it was completely unkempt, it was perfect. He didn't understand it at all.

John had his eyes closed but he must have noticed he was being watched because his bright blue eyes were suddenly staring back at Dirk with curiosity. Dirk shrugged and went back to watching the pot of venison. He wondered how he was supposed to check if it was done or not. John must know how long it needs to stay in or something, otherwise he surely would have checked it by now.

In short time, Dave had brought the rest of the meat in and cooked it, adding salt and stirring with boredom. John sat up finally but before he could say anything, he caught a glimpse of the book at the foot of the bed. He picked it up to see in struggled writing, 'Drk' written on the right page. He smiled, "Hey, Dave."

Dave looked up from the boiling water, "What?"  
"Come here."  
Dave stood and sat down next to him on the bed, seeing him holding his notebook. He pointed at the three letters, "This is close but it has an 'i' between 'D' and 'r'. Dave forgot what an 'i' was but remembered as John rewrote the name underneath his first attempt.

Dirk watched them from his position next to the fire and was tempted to sit next to them to see what they were doing. He refrained and instead asked, "When is dinner gonna be done?"

Dave and John both looked up, "In about five minutes," John said.  
Dirk spread out the blanket he was given on the floor. He picked up the stack of wooden plates by the fireplace and set them out on the blanket. Dave and John seemed preoccupied and weren't paying attention. He rooted around in the closet to see if they had anything left in there. Dave had said they only had meat but he wanted to be sure.

He found the closet to be stocked with spare dishes, blankets, clothes, towels, and cleaning supplies. Any other food was nowhere to be seen. He decided before he left he would help them start a garden. It wasn't hard to figure one out. He had seen enough people in his village start their own and he knew what to do and what not to.

He went over to the fireplace again, waving a hand in front of his younger brother's face. Dave looked up, "What?"  
"It's been five minutes."  
Dave raised an eyebrow, "It has?"  
"Yep."

He stood and closed the book they had been huddling over. The conversation was way out of Dirk's understanding so he had just ignored it. Dave went over to the pot and took a towel from beside the fireplace, using it to pick up the handle and carry it to the floor at the end of their bed, a foot away from the little setup Dirk had made.

Dave looked over at the blanket spread out, "Well geez, aren't you fancy?"  
He grabbed the plates and used the knife, which had been washed clean, to pull out piece after piece. He stacked them on the plates and handed one to Dirk and one to John. He served himself and sat down to eat with them.

The room stayed quiet for a few minutes before Dave spoke up, "So, just out of curiosity, how long are you planning on staying here?"  
Dirk stopped chewing to think this over, "I didn't really think about it. As long as you'll have me I guess?"  
"Well I honestly don't think we can support one more person for more than a few more days. No offense."  
"None taken."  
Dirk continued eating and seemed to be in deep thought. John was watching Dave with a communicating look in his eyes but Dave wasn't very good at reading things when people weren't talking. He had tried to understand these looks John gave him before but he was really bad at it when all he got was some blank expression coupled with an aura of unknown suggestion.

He raised an eyebrow but John just shrugged and didn't respond. Dirk looked up and seemed to notice the two of them talking, looking between them curiously. Dave went back to eating and jumped as he heard a knock on the door.

John was quick to jump to his feet and look out the front window to see Jade. He opened the door and smiled, "Hi! Come in. Stay for dinner."  
"Oh that's okay I just ate. I brought you guys some food. I know you must not have much right now, just getting started and all."  
She looked over at Dave and then noticed an extra person in the room, "Oh! Hi..."  
She seemed to recognize him from his 'visit' to the village. He nodded at her and Dave rolled his eyes, "Don't feel obligated to leave, he'll be here for a few days."

Jade stepped inside and took off the jacket that enveloped her tiny frame. She laid it over the end of the bed frame and turned around to shut the door. She sat down between John and Dave to complete the square of people. She set her basket down beside her and opened it, "Well, to start, I brought fruit and vegetables because I know you don't have any and since I'm the only woman here, I know it's my job to force you to eat healthy food."

Jade pulled out a cloth that she laid out in the middle of everyone, the edges dropped and an assortment of berries made themselves known. She pulled out another and laid it out, laying on it carrots, potatoes, onions, and lettuce.

"And because I love you guys so much," she took the top of the basket completely off and pulled out a small bowl, filled with hot muffins. John looked like he was in heaven, "Jade you didn't have to bring us all of this," He said in obligatory response. She shook her head, "No worries. It was all leftovers from dinner. It would have ended up just like most leftovers. People would bring it home to keep and it would get ignored because the next night fresh stuff would be available to eat. Really it's no big deal."

John went to get a few bowls from the closet and he put the berries and vegetables in them. He could already smell the soup that could be made with this stuff. He covered the bowls and put them on the mantle.

John was tired. He was ready to sleep. It was probably nine o' clock already and he wanted to sleep. He was surprised Jade was here so late.

"How did you convince Grandpa to let you out so late?"  
Jade's face went red, "He doesn't know. I left after he went to bed."  
John gave her a criticizing look and smiled, "Well if you wanna stay here tonight I'm sure it can be arranged. It isn't very smart to walk back at night through the woods."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Bec is waiting outside for me."  
John nodded, "Alright, Bec will take care of you. Be careful. Thank you for the food and for stopping by." He smiled and stood to open the door for her. She pulled on her heavy jacket and left the house to go home.

John shut the door and sighed. He let out a yawn and picked up the plates from the floor, going outside to wash them off in the river. He cam in a few minutes later, the stack neat and clean, putting them on the mantle where they kept all their food and utensils. Dirk was rearranging the blanket so it was folded in half and the other one he was given was laid over the top of him as he lay his head heavily on the pillow. He was probably just as tired as John and he had been walking for weeks. He must be happy to sleep inside for once.

John looked over to Dave who was sitting on his side of the bed with his notebook in hand. John opened the closet and got their pajamas. He pulled his shirt off but before it was over his head, he felt arms around his back and pulling him forward. He yanked his shirt over his head and smiled to see Dave's cheek rested against his pale stomach, "What?"

Dave smiled, "Nothin."  
John chuckled and pulled back to finish getting dressed. He pulled his pants down and slipped into his pajamas, his shirt soft against his skin. Dave slipped his clothes off ad followed suit, sitting back down on the side of the bed. John couldn't help leaning down to cup Dave's face and give him a loving kiss on the lips. Both of them smiling before John circled the bed to lay down. He let his arm drape lazily over Dave's chest before he let his tired eyes fall shut and drifted into an easy sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Dave rolled over lazily and felt himself trapped under John's arm. He opened his eyes to try and unwrap himself. He needed to go use a tree or something along those lines. They had yet to build an outhouse and that was definitely one of their next projects. He lifted Jon's arm off of himself and stood silently. He knelt down for his shoes and noticed Bro's bed was empty. He creased his forehead and pulled them on before opening the door. He stopped when he saw outside that bro had expanded their dam. He looked around but to see if he could spot him but he was nowhere in sight.

After taking care of things he walked over to the bridge and continued searching only to come up with absolutely nothing. He went back inside to see John was sitting in bed, looking way too adorable as he rubbed at his eyes, his sleeves conveniently way too long for his arms. He looked up, his hair in disarray, "What were you doing outside?"

"The only thing anyone has any business doing outside at two in the morning."  
"Oh." He giggled and looked around the room, "Where's Dirk?"  
"I dunno. He left his bag here though so I'm sure he isn't gone."  
John shrugged and patted the bed beside him, "I'm cold, come over here and get back in bed."  
Dave smiled and pulled his shoes off, laying back down and pulling the blankets around himself. He was surprised at a soft kiss to his lips after his eyes had closed.

He opened his eyes and smiled, kissing back. John's lips were warm and he was still half asleep. Dave smiled and pulled him close against his chest and wrapped his arms around his stomach, "Go back to sleep."

John nodded and let his cold fingers wrap around Dave's hands.

~~

Dave woke up to the sound of a knock on the door. He stood and walked to the door, nearly tripping in his tired stupor. He opened it to see Dirk waiting, "Where were you?"  
"Out."  
"Doing what?"  
"Nothing."  
"I would continue to pry but I'm still tired."  
Dave waved him off and got back in bed, pulling the blankets up and holding onto John like a teddy bear. The rest of the night consisted of the opening and closing of the front door. Dave would probably rather Dirk just slam it open and closed but he insisted on acting as though he was being sneaky and the tiny little noises the door made grated on Dave's nerves. He finally sat up, "Would you just go to sleep? Seriously. Or at least stop pretending you aren't waking me up. Just open and close the goddamn door like any human would. Geez."  
And with this, he rolled over and tugged the blankets over his head to keep the sunlight from reaching his tired eyes.

John seemed to be disturbed by the sound and sat up, "You guys have been making noise all night is there a good reason?"  
"Yeah, he's up to something and won't stop coming in and out of the house. I think it would be less obnoxious if he would just leave the door open. I mean really it's not like the cold air hasn't already gotten inside."  
"Yeah well I'm tired still. It's only like..." John looked out the window, "like five in the morning."  
He followed Dave under the covers and snuggled into his chest. The two fell back asleep until seven when Dirk decided they should get up, "Wake up sleepy heads."

Dave threw the covers down and stood, pushing his brother against the wall by the door, "Shut. Up."  
"Oh come on I'm just trying to be a good guardi-"  
"I don't need a guardian. I need sleep. I might have gotten up two hours ago if you would actually sleep at night."  
"Touche."  
"Yeah. Touche. Now either go outside and leave us alone or stay inside and go to sleep. Last warning before I lock the door and kick you out."  
"Harsh. Also can we not be in suggestive positions? This is really awkward."  
"I'll be as suggestive as I feel like being."  
"I didn't actually think you were doing this on purpose."  
"I'm not, you moron. It's not like I'm the one who even said anything about being suggestive to begin with."

"Make it stopppp," John whined from the other side of the room."  
Dave dropped his hands from Dirk's shoulders and glared before getting back in bed. Dirk went outside and didn't come back in.

Dave sat up at 7:30am. He didn't usually sleep in this late. He really hoped this wasn't going to happen every night until Dirk left. Wasn't the point of staying here to catch up on sleep until he had to make the trek back home?

He leaned on his arm and used his left hand to brush the hair from John's forehead. John breathed in deeply and opened his eyes, "What time is it?"  
"I dunno, probably almost eight."  
John sat up quickly, "What?"  
"Relax, it's not like we actually got any sleep."  
John calmed down and looked around.

He stood up carefully, wobbling a bit and walked over to the wood pile, picking some big pieces to add to the fire. The flames ate at the new pieces thankfully and John pulled down the bowl of muffins, getting two to put on a plate and set on the edge of the fireplace to warm up. He grabbed the two cups from the mantel and went outside. Dave sat In bed and waited. He came back in a minute later with milk and grabbed the plate, handing a cup to Dave and then crawling back into bed.

They rested against the backboard and ate quietly. Dirk must have seen John outside because he appeared at the window a minute later. Dave rolled his eyes and waved him inside. The door opened cautiously and Dirk came inside, closing it behind him.

He went to the mantel to grab some breakfast. He sat on the end of the bed but Dave kicked him off, "Don't sit on my bed."  
"Why?"  
"Because this bed wasn't built for three people first of all, and because this is a couple's bed. You don't just sit on a bed that's shared by two people actively having sex, that's fucked up."  
John's face turned bright red and he set down the rest of the muffin on the plate, "Is that a thing we're broadcasting now?"

Dave forgot John wasn't there during their conversation, "Oh... Dirk knows. I told him yesterday."  
"Why?"  
"Because. Don't worry he's like us."  
"'like us'?"  
"He likes guys."  
"Oh... well I like girls too. It just happens that you got here before I ever actually found a girl. So what am I?"  
"I don't know. It doesn't really matter, my whole point was that he isn't gonna kill us in our sleep if he knows we're a couple."  
"Okay."  
John leaned over to whisper in Dave's ear, "You told him we have sex?"  
"He was bound to figure it out anyway," he whispered back.

John rolled his eyes and continued eating. Dirk stood to go outside. Dave and John finished eating and decided to go to the springs. On their way out the door Dave ran into Dirk, "Let's make an agreement."  
"Yes?"  
"Me and John bathe in the morning, you bathe at night. That way there wont be any awkward encounters."  
"Okay. I don't even know where the springs are so how am I supposed to bathe at all?"  
"It's straight South of here."

With this, Dave followed after John who was getting ahead of him. They arrived at the springs, tired and ready to sink into the steaming water. They sat across from each other like they usually did but John swam over to sit next to Dave and rest his head on his shoulder. They decided to take their time at the springs. They were in no hurry to get back to the house and they were tired and the spring was comfortable.

John thought over some things. An idea made itself known in his mind and he decided it was a good one to put to use later on. They lay there comfortably until Dave let out a deep breath that ruffled John's hair. He looked up to see Dave falling asleep. He sat up and jostled his shoulder lightly before his red eyes opened and he looked around to see where they were. He took in a deep breath before going out to the middle of the spring to wash up. John followed and they got out to dry off, dressing and walking back to the house. Dave stopped as they entered the area, pointing to the dam which was now cornered by wooden posts on each side of the river. Dave raised an eyebrow, curious what his bro was up to.

He came out of the woods on the other side of the river a minute later and Dave held up his hands in question, "What are you doing?"  
"Nothin'."  
"You're full of it. What are you doing?"  
"Makin' a bridge."  
"What for?"  
John went inside to put their stuff away.  
"In case you need to cross the river, duh."  
"Why would we need to cross the river?"  
"I don't know. Firewood, rocks, exploring. Who knows?"

Dave gave Dirk a look that clearly said he didn't trust him. He went inside to see what John was up to and found him with his notebook and pencil. He was flipping through pages and most likely checking over Dave's progress. He set it down as Dave came in and smiled.

"What if we go back to the village today? I think we should tell my dad what we're up to. He needs to know we're safe and we owe him a reason for not coming home. We should tell him that we aren't gonna live in the village. And we can visit him too. I'm sure he would like that. And it isn't fair to make Jade come out here all the time and never go back home to see her. I just don't think we should stay here for a year without telling anyone we're okay or anything. It just isn't right."

"Okay."  
"Yeah... when do you wanna go?"  
"Right now? Got nothing else to do."  
"Good point. Okay."

John pulled his shoes back on and went outside with Dave behind him. Dirk was looking around the woods and looking lost. Dave raised an eyebrow, "Dirk," he called, "we're going to the village, we'll be back later."  
Dirk looked up and jogged back to the other side of the river, "I'm comin."  
"No you aren't."  
"Sure I am."  
"Why?"  
"I have some stuff to do before I even think about going home."  
"Fine stay out of our way."  
"Of course."

They set off down the trail to the village. John smiled as the houses came into sight. He wanted to run to them all eating lunch and join them. He instead took Dave around the back behind his house and cut through the bushes. They went in through the emergency door in his room and went to the living room to wait, sitting on the pillows at the table. John's dad came in a few minutes later and John stood up, looking at the floor. Dave watched quietly. He was glad the man didn't have any food because he had little doubt that it would have been dropped.

John was embraced in a tight hug and he smiled, hugging back. He was glad his dad wasn't mad at him. He stepped back, "John where have you been? And are you okay? Is Dave okay?"  
Dave was surprised John's dad remembered his name, "Yeah, I'm fine. We're fine."  
"We came back to let you know we're okay. But we need to talk. Can we go get lunch and talk?"  
John's dad looked worried, "Sure."

They all went out to the lunch line and served hot stew like the first night Dave had stayed over. They went back to the chief's house and sat down around the table, "Is there a way to make sure no one comes in during this," John asked.  
His dad nodded, "No one is supposed to talk to me today so my schedule is empty."  
"Well I think we should start with, we have a house in the woods. It's that fort that we, Jade, Jake, Jane, and I, used to play in. but we fixed it up. Built some stuff for it. We're doing alright there. And if it isn't too much to ask, we would kind of like to live there. I think it would help us grow up. We've already grown up a lot living on our own. We've learned a lot."

Johns dad seemed a bit disappointed to hear he would rather live elsewhere, "Who will take charge of the village when I get older?"  
"What about Jade? She's an heir too. She's strong and smart and I think she and whoever she marries would do a great job taking care of the village."  
"Okay. Why do you want to move out anyway? Out of the village I mean. Wouldn't you rather stay here until you find someone to marry?"  
John's cheeks turned red, "That's another thing we need to talk about. Dad do you love me? Like, no matter what ever happens?"  
"I do, and you know that John. You're the best son anyone could ever hope for."  
"Well what if I told you something that might change that opinion?"  
"I don't think you could, to be honest."  
"Well I do have to tell you something even if it does change your opinion. And I want you to know this is really hard for me to say."

John's dad seemed concerned, "I'm listening."  
John took a deep breathe, "I already know who I want to get married to and I don't think it's anyone you want me to get married to."  
Dave cut in, "Married?"  
"Be quiet."  
Dave quit talking and John continued, "Me and Dave..."  
He tried to keep talking but he was looking at the table and he couldn't look his dad in the eyes, "John?"  
John looked up slowly, his eyes flicking down tot he table every couple seconds, tears running down his face, "Yeah?"  
"I love you no matter who you decide to marry."  
Dave had a feeling John's dad had already figured it out but was waiting for John to continue.  
"Well me and Dave are," cough, "we're kind of... dammit I don't know how to say this at all."

His dad raised an eyebrow at the swear word.  
"Me and Dave love each other."  
The other eyebrow went up, "Okay. Well. That is different. And not common at all. But I still love you. And if you want to live with Dave and... be with Dave, I won't try to hold you back."  
John looked up at his dad, "Not common? Have you met someone else who... likes men?"  
John's cheeks were bright red.  
"I have. I met him on a trading trip in a village nearby here when I was younger."  
"Do you know his name?"  
"I'm sorry to say I don't. He confided in me on a whim and refused to tel me who he was. I honestly don't blame him. Many people aren't so accepting." John nodded. They finished lunch and John and Dave stood, John hugging his father and Dave shaking his hand.

They found Dirk and headed back to the village, each with their hands full. Dave and Dirk had an interesting conversation - a long and interesting conversation – on the way back.


	16. Chapter 16

"Yeah yeah, don't take all the credit you wouldn't have had any of this if we hadn't helped you carry all the crap."

Dave leaned on the post by the corner of their completed bridge. But even as the bridge was a beautiful new addition to their property, he was looking at something bigger. He was looking 100 some yards into the woods at the house of their new neighbor.

He stood straighter and meandered forward with John behind him. They walked to meet Dirk in front of his new house. It was certainly better than the house he'd lived in before. Dave wasn't too fond of having his brother living so close but he would get used to it. It was a little nice to have him over at night. They would tell stories and eat snacks and play games. Part of him looked forward to it.

Dave stepped onto the small porch and opened the door. Dirk stepped in first and looked around, admiring his work. It lacked windows so a screen was nailed across the large holes in the walls. The sun was setting. The room was blank and boring and Dirk would need to borrow some blankets and their spare pillow until he earned enough money to buy some necessities.

He had a job in town. He worked not only with James to deliver supplies, but he also decided to become part of the hunters. He was to leave for his first mission tomorrow night. He was giddy and nervous all day, hitting his hand multiple times while nailing the roof together. Dave would be surprised if he could even fight correctly with the bruises layered on his fingers.

He rolled his eyes and turned to leave, "Just remember, Springs at night, knock before entering, and give us space."  
He acted stoic and serious but he was really grinning as he turned his back to leave. He crossed the bridge to their house and went inside to side down at their new table. The plates were set and he was excited to eat at a real table for once. It was nice to have a place for his hot bowl, for his filled plates, and for his notebook while he wrote carefully worded journal entries in the back.

John finished adding the ingredients to the soup that slowly came to a boil in the pot over the fire. He came to sit at the table and read over Dave's entry to make sure he had everything spelled right, making little marks where it needed fixing like he would a student.

He closed the book and set it on the nightstand now filling the empty space by Dave's bedside. He picked up the bowls on the table and filled them with soup, carrying them back to set down in front of Dave and himself. The shiny new utensils they ate with were a housewarming gift from his father. He had yet to actually see their house but John was sure he would be able to come soon. He was waiting until the house was more put together before inviting him over. He told him so to make sure he knew he was welcome.

"How's it taste?"  
"A hundred times better when eaten at a table."  
"Is that a crack at my cooking?"  
"Absolutely not your cooking is always great, I just really love this table."  
John chuckled and a knock was heard at the door. Dave stood and pulled back the newly added drapes. Jade was waiting in front of the door. Dave opened up to see her smiling widely, "Hi!"  
"Hey, Jade."

Jade decided to let herself in when Dave opened the door further. Dirk could be seen from his porch looking curiously to their house. Dave gave him a sarcastic wave before shutting the door. He could almost picture Dirk rolling his eyes.

Jade looked around, "Your house looks great!"  
"Thanks."  
Dave pulled over the third chair and invited her to sit. John grabbed another bowl and brought her dinner, "Here, tell me what you think."  
Jade was about to refuse but she hadn't eaten yet and saw no harm. She took a bite, "This is really good! Why don't I eat here every night?"  
John laughed. She probably thought he was laughing at her joke but he was thinking of what it would be like to feed three people. He could hardly support Dirk. He usually ended up going back to the village to eat with the others.

Jade had brought dessert once again. She set the basket on the table and Dave took the initiative to look inside. He smiled and pulled out a bowl of fresh cookies, "Who's baking all of these anyway? Are you just filling up at the dessert table?"  
Jade laughed, "Of course not that would be rude. I bake them myself."  
The room got quiet and John and Dave stared.  
"What," she asked cautiously, "I didn't poison them or anything..."  
John spoke up, "These are... I didn't know you could bake so well. The stuff you bring is always really amazing and I didn't know you made it all yourself. You don't have to, you know..."  
"But I enjoy it." She smiled, "I never had a reason to bake without someone to bake for but now I get to bake all the time."

John laughed and ate one of the warm cookies. He made a mental note to try and save a few for Dirk. He looked up at a knock on the door and rolled his eyes. Of course.

He opened the door and let Dirk inside to join them. John waited for the undoubted question of what Jade had brought this time. But instead of asking he invited himself over to the table and grabbed a few cookies for himself.

The night was fairly uneventful. Dirk went back to his house for his first over night stay in it. Jade left after dinner. John and Dave got into the warm bed they had grown fond of. Dave was first to break the silence, "So... when are we inviting your dad over?"  
"I dunno. Whenever you're ready."  
"Well I don't really care it's up to you."  
"Okay. Tomorrow."  
Dave nodded, "Okay. That's fine with me."  
John snuggled into Dave's chest and wrapped an arm around his torso. The only sound around was an owl cooing in the trees outside their house. Dave loved that owl. It had been there every night since they came here and it could almost lull him to sleep with its call. He was always the last to sleep and even with the restriction of John's arms around him, it made him feel comfortable and at ease.

The morning came fast. Dave woke with the feeling that he hadn't slept at all. He rolled over and caught himself before falling off the side of the bed. He rubbed at his eyes before sitting up. The fire was low and he escaped into the cold air to add some wood on top of last night's coals.

He sat on the edge of the bed and watched as the flames began to grow and writhe. He looked to John who was fast asleep. He stood and went out to Casey to get some milk. He filled two glasses and pulled out the rest of the cookies from last night, laying some on a plate and setting it in the middle of the table.

He pulled out their clothes and lay them out. He pulled out the broom and swept the dirt off the floor that got carried in every time they came in with their shoes on. He opened the door and swept it outside. Next he went to the closet, putting the broom away and getting the bucket and cloth, getting water and washing the windows. He was bored and figured he might as well clean up the house before inviting Mr. Egbert over.

John started to turn over in his sleep and get restless like he did a lot before he woke up. He sat up in bed and looked around until he spotted Dave outside dumping the bucket of dirty water. He looked around the room to see the difference. The floors were clean and so were the windows. Breakfast was waiting on the table and his clothes were at the end of the bed. This was nice.

He stood wearily and changed into his day clothes. Dave came back inside, shutting the door and picking up their dirty clothes to toss in the bin by the door. He would wash them after they went to the springs.

He sat down next to John to eat breakfast. John looked over at him, "Thanks for cleaning up."  
"No problem. We should hurry and eat so we can go to the springs and get back to the village."  
John seemed excited now, eating quickly and gulping down his milk. He stood and waited by the door while Dave finished and grabbed the clothes bin. They walked to the springs and bathed, Dave washing the clothes for once. He hung them out to dry when they got back.

John was switching his weight from foot to foot, wringing his hands in anticipation. Dave was right behind him as they left the village. John was the first to reach his old house, knocking on the door with gusto. His dad opened the door, pleasantly surprised to find his son waiting for him, "Morning, John, Dave."  
"Hey, are you ready to see our house?"  
He raised an eyebrow, "Well I don't have anything to do today, I don't see why not." A smile formed on his face and he went back inside for a minute to get a jacket. He came back outside, ready for a long journey. He must have been surprised to find the house so close; not that it should be surprising considering how often trips are made between locations.

His jaw dropped as they passed under the hanging branches of the willow tree. He seemed amazed that the little paradise had existed without him knowing. He looked across the bridge to Dirk's house and asked which house was the theirs. John pointed to the olive green house at the end of the stone pathway. His dad followed him down the path and John opened the door. They all stepped inside and John's dad looked around with awed approval, "This is quite a place you have here, son. I'm proud of you."  
John grinned with everything in him and invited his dad to have a seat and eat lunch with them. He graciously accepted the invite and sat down at the table, admiring the woodwork. Truth be told he had a nice home but only a few things inside were actually made by his hands.

John and Dave had impressed him. He was happy knowing they were living in a safe place. Not only a safe place but a beautiful place that seemed to welcome them with open arms. After lunch, he was escorted outside, "What house is that?"  
Dave scoffed, "My brother decided he liked it here so he made himself at home. Literally."  
Mr. Egbert nodded and hugged them both, giving regretful goodbyes as he left.

Dave walked over to the bridge and sat down on the side of it, pulling his shoes off and rolling his pants up. John followed suit and they hung their feet in the crystal clear water. Dirk was leaning on his porch, "Did he like the house?"  
"Of course he did our house is awesome."  
"Conceited."  
"Honest."

John giggled and leaned into Dave. They had an awfully nosy neighbor but you grew to love him. They would enjoy living here. They would enjoy living in the house that used to be run down. They would enjoy living by this beautiful river. They would enjoy growing into adults here, and having sleepovers here, and making memories here. They would enjoy building onto this memory to make something completely new and completely their own.


End file.
